August Sees Massive Crypto Losses, Totaling Over $300 Million

In August 2024, the cryptocurrency sector witnessed a significant spike in losses due to various malicious activities, including exploits, hacks, scams, and flash loan attacks. Approximately $310.9 million was lost, with only about $10.3 million recovered. According to CertiK, this makes August the month with the second-highest crypto-related losses in 2024, highlighting the ongoing challenges the sector faces in securing digital assets.”.

Major Incidents Breakdown

CertiK reports that the major incidents in August 2024 were primarily due to three types of attacks:

Exploits: About $308.8 million was lost through exploits, making this the most significant loss category. CertiK identified the Ronin Network as one of the largest contributors, accounting for nearly $11.8 million. Other notable incidents included losses from Nexera, Convergence, 1vest DAO, and the AAVE Periphery Center, with values ranging from $100,000 to over $400,000.

Exit Scams: This accounted for more than $0.8 million in losses. According to CertiK, the top exit scam involved the Grimace token, resulting in a loss of about $649,633. Sigma and Mbappe token scams also contributed to the exit scam figures, with losses of $136,295 and $88,400, respectively.

Flash Loan Attacks: These attacks led to a loss of over $1.2 million. CertiK’s data shows that Vow was the top target, suffering a loss of $1,207,101. Other notable victims included MintStakeShare and Satoshi, although their losses were significantly lower.

Losses Across the Months in 2024

CertiK’s analysis indicates that the losses due to different types of attacks varied throughout the months:

Flash Loan Attacks: After peaking at $23.5 million in June, these attacks saw a decline in July and August, with August registering $1.2 million in losses.

Exit Scams: February experienced the highest losses from exit scams, totaling $52.3 million. However, CertiK notes that August saw a relatively low amount at $0.9 million, continuing a downward trend from earlier months.

Exploits: This continues to be a major threat, with August experiencing the second-highest losses of the year at $308.8 million, almost reaching the $324.7 million peak in May.

Summary of August 2024 Losses

Overall, the crypto sector in August 2024 recorded losses totaling $310,948,537. Despite the return of $10,334,118, the sheer scale of the losses underscores the ongoing security challenges. Investors and stakeholders in the crypto industry must remain vigilant and adopt robust security measures to protect their digital assets from such malicious activities.

Note: Some tokens mentioned in this report share names with legitimate tokens, which should not be confused with the ones involved in the incidents, as highlighted by CertiK.