Web3 projects have lost over $2 billion to hacks and exploits in the past six months, according to a report. The research by CertiK, a blockchain auditing and security company, found that the cryptocurrency space is still plagued by hacks, scams, and phishing schemes, and in the past two quarters, Web3 projects have lost billions.
Over $2 Billion has been lost in Q1 and Q2 alone, meaning that 2022 has already lost more to hacks and exploits than the entirety of 2021. This means that 2022 is already the most expensive year for web3 by far, said the report.
$308,579,156 Lost In Q2 Due To Flash Loan Attacks
It also pointed out that a total of $308,579,156 has been lost in Q2 due to flash loan attacks, making it the highest amount lost via flash loan attacks ever recorded.
Phishing Attacks Increased By 170%
2022 is forecast to see a 223% increase in the funds lost to attacks when compared with 2021, the report claimed.
The report highlights that since the last quarter, Phishing attacks have increased by 170% and social media platforms have emerged as a major pain point for web3 projects.
There has been a marked increase in phishing attacks throughout Q2, with CertiK recording 290 attacks, meaning that phishing attacks have increased by over 170% when compared with the 106 recorded in Q1 of 2022.
While in Q2, more than $520 Million lost to exploits over 39 attacks. This is a marked decline in losses, said the report, adding, when compared with Q1 – down 57% from $1.2 Billion– yet surprisingly no decline in the number of attacks, which actually slightly increased from 33 to 39.
Much of this difference is accounted for by the seismic $624 Million attacks on the Ronin Network which accounts for over half of the losses to exploits in Q1. However, even without the Ronin Attack, the average funds lost per exploit is down from 19 Million to 13.3 Million.
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