The protocols of decentralized finance (or DeFi) are one of the options that those interested in crypto most choose when looking to make their cryptocurrencies yield. These protocols provide a series of services similar to those offered by traditional banking, such as loans, but in a decentralized manner and using cryptocurrencies. However, according to a recent survey, the ecosystem would be in a moment of weakness. Between January and July 2022, Chainalysis found that cryptocurrency thefts have increased by 60%, reaching $1.9 billion. The factor of greatest weakness for the crypto world was that of DeFi.
The theft of crypto assets totals almost USD 2,000 million, this represents about USD 700 million more than what was registered in the same period of the previous year. Chainalysis noted that the trend is not likely to reverse any time soon, taking as an example both the $190 million hack of the Nomad platform like the $5 million hack of various Solana wallets. “DeFi protocols are especially vulnerable to hacking, as their open source code can be pored over by cybercriminals for exploits, and protocol incentives to go to market and grow quickly may lead to lapses in security best practices“Chainalysis said in his analysis.
In turn, he says that much of the capital stolen from these can be attributed to hackers affiliated with North Korea, especially elite groups like Lazarus. In fact, Chainalysis estimates that so far in 2022, North Korea-affiliated hacker groups have stolen roughly $1 billion worth of crypto from DeFi protocols.
Nevertheless, analysis found total scam revenue so far in 2022 currently stands at $1.6 billion; which represents 65% less than there was until the end of July 2021. According to what was investigated by Chainalysis, this drop seems to be related to the “crypto winter” and the fall in prices of cryptocurrencies. In fact, since January 2022, scam revenue has fallen more or less in line with bitcoin prices.
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