Biggest Crypto Hacks of All Time: You Must Know!

Biggest Crypto Hacks of All Time: You Must Know!

The growth of Crypto has proved a highly positive technological breakthrough in the last few years, although the uncertainty of their future is keeping them from taking off. 

Blockchain technology, developed by Best Software Developers, is the foundation of cryptocurrency and offers an extremely solid system that offers a variety of positives over traditional currencies. Furthermore, blockchain technology has led to an immense network of decentralized apps as well as smart contracts.

The growth in blockchain technologies, in addition to Crypto, is also being damaged by a number of serious attacks in Crypto and Blockchain that have shaken the trust-building base of Crypto and blockchain-based applications created by Best Software Developers. Do people have to trust their most precious assets to blockchain or cryptocurrency platforms? The uncertainty in the market could affect the decisions of those who are interested in Crypto, and hacks related to Crypto could hinder their efforts even more. This article gives a comprehensive outline of the most famous hacks that have occurred in the cryptocurrency industry.

The necessity of Learning about Crypto Hacks

The first thing that pops up when you research the most important cyber-related hacks is blockchain technology. Doesn't it appear that blockchain technology should provide security for cryptography? While it was designed to offer the capability to scale, decentralization and security, it could be difficult to handle the three aspects.

However, blockchain applications such as cryptocurrency put the responsibility of the security of the application and security of assets to the end user. An insignificant oversight of the user can result in attacks and even the destruction of assets. The amount of hacks that occur every year emphasizes the importance of learning more about them and taking security precautions as suggested by top custom software development companies.

Additionally, hackers seek out vulnerabilities in the software that is the basis of blockchain and cryptocurrency applications. For instance, hackers took advantage of an issue in the software used by a Web3 music platform known as Audius and took $1.1 million worth of assets. The first quarter of 2022 has seen hacking into cryptocurrency lead to losses of around $2 billion. It's amazing that this number has been able to reach $3 billion by the closing date the month of Oct. 2022. There were approximately 150 cryptocurrency-related hacks. As the hacks of cryptocurrency continue to increase in frequency and frequency, the amount of losses that result from cryptocurrency hacks in 2022 is likely to surpass the $3.2 billion mark set in 2021.

Renowned Crypto Hacks in Recent Times

 

The financial losses resulting from cyber-attacks are increasing with every passing year. According to the research of Chain list, the centralized exchanges have been principal targets of hacks in Crypto. However, DeFi platforms developed by top custom software development companies emerged as the latest victims of hackers, mainly because of their dependence on smart contract codes.

 

Thus, a brief overview of the most notable crypto hacks may give an accurate picture of the issues uncovered in the protocols. Additionally, you can learn more about the restoration of protocols following recent crypto attacks and gain insight into security. This brief overview of the major crypto hacks fully explains the events involved.

Axie Infinity Ronin Bridge

One of the more prominent entries in the crypto hacks of 2022 could be the $625 million hack of Ronin Network. Hackers gained access to a number of cryptographic encryption keys used to protect the cross-chain bridge used by Axie Infinity developed by top software development firms. It appears that an Axie developer was able to click on a fake job advertisement in the form of a PDF. The attacker stole four of nine private keys for authentication and then transferred an estimated 25.5 million USDC and 173,600 Ethereum to their wallets.

 

The hackers were discovered after an attempt by a user to legitimately withdraw. According to Sky Mavis, the co-founder of Axie Infinity, they have utilized the help of investigators from forensic cryptographers, law enforcement officials, and investors to ensure that there are no future losses of money. After the attack, the Ronin Bridge introduced more validators, with a huge reduction in trust among users.

Crypto.com

Another notable example on the crypto hacks list is the renowned central exchange Crypto.com. The company suffered losses of $35 million due to an attack on cryptocurrency on January 17th 2022. What caused this Crypto.com hack? The answer is evident in the disablement of two-factor authentication. The hackers had deactivated the authentication mechanism for identity verification and transferred Bitcoin and Ether out of the customers' accounts.

 

On the other hand, the chief executive officer of Crypto.com initially denied the loss of funds through the hack. However, the exchange was forced to admit the hack couple of days later. In response to the attack, the company plans to implement multi-factor authentication prescribed by top software development firms of the user's credentials.

Binance

The next entry in the most prominent crypto hacks of recent years could be the situation of The Binance exchange. The loss was 570 million in the event of this Binance exchange hack that occurred in October 2022 and was identified among the most well-known hacks. The reason for the hack lies in an attack on the BSC Token Hub, a cross-chain bridge. Hackers hacked into the bridges developed by top software development companies, made additional BNB tokens, and then withdrew two million BNB tokens. The hack highlighted the need to refine the security of blockchains, with a particular focus on resolving security flaws in smart contract software.

 

It is also worth noting that the IRA Financial Trust also incurred a loss of $37 million during a cryptocurrency hack on February 8th 2022. It's a crypto-based system for pension and retirement disbursal platform that has the potential to promote the widespread use of cryptocurrency. However, hackers hacked into assets on the platform after using a master key which enabled them to circumvent all security measures.

 

The response from IRA Financial Trust towards the hack was directed towards Gemini. It appears that IRA Financial Trust used the services of the Gemini crypto exchange developed  by top software development companies to store the customer's funds. The exchange has been accused of negligence that led to the breach, soliciting improvements to security.

 

Wormhole

The top 10 crypto-related hacks thus far will also spotlight Wormhole, an application from DeFi. Wormhole served as a Solana for the Ethereum bridge and incurred costs of $325 million due to the crypto-related hack of February 2nd 2022. Hackers had hacked into the smart contracts on the platform to mint money and cash it out in wrap Ether without collateral deposit.

 

The vulnerability in the smart contract resulted from an update of the GitHub repository (a platform for devs developed by top software development companies in the world) for this protocol that has not been fully implemented in the project's live version. The Wormhole was Wormhole hack was reportedly the largest theft in Solana, which is one of the most prominent rivals to Ethereum, which suffered the loss of 47 million dollars worth of SOL tokens.

 

The network was then required to replenish its assets on the project because of the inability to fund recovery. The venture capital company backing this Wormhole Protocol, i.e., Jump Crypto ensured the Solvability of the affected Solana platforms. Furthermore, Wormhole also changed the name of its bridge to "Portal." The DeFi platform is home to about $480 million in assets.

Beanstalk

The list of various hacks to cryptocurrency reported in recent years would include the attack on Beanstalk. The hack on Beanstalk revealed how 'flash loans' can be an attack vector in DeFi platforms. Hackers exploited a vulnerability on the Beanstalk DeFi platform by borrowing a flash loan, which was $1 billion. Flash loans are an unpretentious and useful DeFi product that allows users to borrow cryptocurrency for shorter times. The hacker presented a proposal to donate money to Ukraine and passed it, encouraging users to make collateral deposits to the project.

 

The hacker then took advantage of the $1 billion loan to purchase a controlling stake of 67% within the venture. After acquiring an overwhelming stake in the project, hackers authorized the transfer of funds to cryptocurrency wallets developed by top software development companies in the world without repayment of the loan. It is interesting to note that the time needed to operate the attack was just 13 seconds. The reaction of the developers to the hack was focused on halting the operation of the protocol as well as conducting audits. Furthermore, Beanstalk is also working to collect the required money and plans to open deposits again.

Final Words

The list of recent most significant crypto hacks depicts a dark and bleak image for crypto enthusiasts. Even the security of cryptographic blockchain does not protect cryptocurrency from theft. You've surely noticed the many factors that lead to the most infamous crypto-hacks and the developing complex nature.

 

Additionally, the details of the hacks highlight how blockchain protocols can recover from hacks that could be a possibility. The most important thing is that the list of crypto-related hacks urges understanding the best practices in blockchain security. Get your knowledge in crypto and blockchain security today.