Crypto traders have misplaced nearly $3.5bn to crypto scams and rug pulls in 2022 alone. In response to a analysis report launched by Privateness Affairs, the FTX collapse constitutes greater than half of the determine.
2022: a yr to neglect for crypto traders
Knowledge privateness and cybersecurity analysis firm Privateness Affairs has launched a report entitled ‘Cryptocurrency Scams of 2022’. It highlights the affect that scams have had on the crypto business because the flip of the yr.
Within the doc, Privateness Affairs famous that crypto traders had misplaced almost $3.5bn to scams and rug-pulls this yr, with DeFi struggling probably the most.
As well as, the report recognized the much-publicized FTX collapse as probably the most vital contributor to the estimated determine, as traders misplaced an estimated $2bn as a result of FTX debacle, which has crushed many prime crypto corporations.
Asides from FTX, the researchers have revealed that different crypto corporations, together with NFT-based gaming platform Axie Infinity, additionally recorded large losses this yr.
In whole, Axie’s Ronin Community misplaced $615m, Wormhole crypto bridge over $320m, JuicyFields $273m, and Distinctive-Change $267m to scams and dangerous actors.
DeFi protocols hit laborious
Between January and July 2022, dangerous actors stole almost $2bn in crypto from blockchain corporations, representing a 37% enhance from 2021. DeFi protocols have been the worst hit among the many sectors within the crypto business.
In Q1 2022, 97% of all stolen cryptocurrency got here from DeFi protocols. As well as, traders on this sector have misplaced over $1bn from the start of January 2021 by way of March 2022 to cryptocurrency scams.
The info privateness agency additionally famous that flash mortgage assaults had change into a rising development amongst dangerous actors. This assault exploits a platform’s good contract safety, enabling an attacker to borrow giant sums of cash with no collateral. The scammers then manipulate the worth of a cryptocurrency asset on one alternate earlier than rapidly promoting it on one other.
The report revealed that in Q2 2022, crypto lending corporations misplaced over $308 million as a consequence of flash mortgage assaults.