January 2025 was a tumultuous month for the cryptocurrency industry, with a staggering $73.9 million loss due to hacks. This represents a dramatic nineteen-times increase in losses compared to December 2024, when only $3.85 million was reported stolen.
Despite this alarming surge, the total losses in January reflect a 44% decrease from the same month last year, which saw losses amounting to $133 million.
The most prominent breach occurred at Phemex, a centralized exchange based in Singapore. Hackers reportedly siphoned off approximately $69.1 million from the platform.
This incident has raised suspicions regarding the involvement of North Korean hackers, known for their sophisticated cyber operations targeting cryptocurrency platforms.
Experts have noted that this breach aligns with previous tactics employed by the North Korean groups, particularly their focus on infrastructure compromise.
In addition to Phemex, the decentralized finance (DeFi) options platform, Moby Trade, suffered a hack that resulted in losses of $2.5 million. The attack on Moby Trade exploited a compromised private key, which allowed the attacker to manipulate the smart contract and withdraw funds.
Interestingly, a white-hat hacker recovered $1.5 million of the stolen assets shortly after the attack, showcasing the risks and potential for recovery within the DeFi space.
A Tale of Two Vulnerabilities: Cefi & Defi
The data from January highlights a stark contrast between losses in CeFi and DeFi. Due to the Phemex breach, CeFi platforms accounted for a whopping 93% of total losses. However, DeFi had the highest number of incidents – 18 compared to CeFi’s single incident.
Mitchell Amador, CEO of Immunefi, emphasized that while DeFi exploits are more frequent, they often result in partial losses rather than complete fund compromises, as seen in CeFi hacks.
He pointed out that “a stolen private key allows a hacker to withdraw an enormous amount of funds,” highlighting the critical need for robust security measures within these platforms.
Although overall crypto hacks dropped significantly year-over-year from 2024, the data serves as a wake-up call for the cryptocurrency industry to enhance security protocols.
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