Crypto losses surged by 1,163% in April, driven largely by a single hack costing $330.7 million from an elderly US individual’s wallet. Overall, $364 million was lost throughout the month due to various exploits and scams. Recovery efforts returned over $18 million, but phishing scams remain a significant threat as the crypto landscape faces increasing risks and vulnerabilities.
In April, crypto losses soared by an astonishing 1,163%, according to blockchain security firm CertiK. A total of $364 million was reported lost due to exploits, hacks, and scams, a significant jump from $28.8 million noted in March. A single major incident was behind much of this staggering figure, where an elderly US individual lost 3,520 Bitcoin, roughly worth $330.7 million after a hacker adeptly employed social engineering tactics to gain wallet access.
This theft occurred on April 30, making it the largest hack of the month and the fifth-largest of all time. When excluding this incident, total losses in April would have been approximately $34 million, which indicates a 21% increase compared to losses in March, highlighting a worrying trend in the crypto space.
CertiK identified phishing scams as the primary contributor to these losses, with social engineering, access control hacks, and price manipulation exploits also being significant causes. Overall, this month’s data accentuates the precarious nature of digital currencies and how quickly they can be compromised. For context, February remains the worst month this year, with losses hitting $1.53 billion heavily due to a $1.4 billion hack involving North Korea’s Lazarus Group at Bybit.
In a somewhat positive turn, over $18 million was reportedly returned from various exploits throughout April. Notably, the decentralized exchange KiloEx managed to recover $7.5 million shortly after being struck, as the hacker returned the stolen funds just four days post-attack. Meanwhile, ZKsync also managed to recover $5 million of stolen tokens linked to a security flaw in their airdrop distribution contract on April 15.
The DeFi protocol Loopscale fared better than expected, having recouped half of the $5.7 million lost on April 26 after an exploit involving its RateX PT token pricing functions. Interestingly, while April brought alarming statistics related to crypto-related crimes, there is notably a decline in losses towards the end of 2024, as December recorded $28.6 million stolen, marking a decrease from prior months’ figures, such as $63.8 million in November and $115.8 million in October.
This trend of decreasing losses could suggest that preventive measures and awareness are starting to take effect, although the stark contrast between monthly data still highlights that vigilance is crucial in the ever-evolving crypto landscape.
Ultimately, this landscape remains fraught with risks, and the ongoing adaptations of hackers mean users must stay informed and cautious as the sector continues to develop.
