The year 2023 brought both advancements and challenges in the Web3 space, with a notable $1.8 billion lost to hackers and scammers, as highlighted by a recent report from Immunefi. Shockingly, 17% of these losses were linked to the North Korea-associated Lazarus Group.
Breaking down the figures:
Lazarus Group’s involvement further deepens concerns, with law enforcement tracing about $309 million in losses to this group. This includes major breaches like Atomic Wallet ($100 million) and CoinEx ($70 million).
Interestingly, the majority of the losses, a whopping $1.6 billion, stemmed from hacks rather than direct fraud. Specifically, protocols touting decentralization suffered the most, with losses amounting to $1.3 billion. In contrast, centralized finance (CeFi) crypto protocols faced a relatively smaller loss of $409 million.
On a comparative note, there’s a silver lining: the $1.8 billion loss in 2023 is a 52% reduction from 2022’s staggering $3.8 billion, as reported by Chainalysis.
As we continue to navigate the evolving landscape of Web3, security remains paramount. Let’s hope for more robust defenses in the coming year. Stay safe and informed!