Hacker attacks and fraud led to losses of approximately $126.8 million for crypto projects in January, across 19 separate incidents, according to a report by Immunefi.
The damage was six times greater than in the first month of 2023 and nearly three times the figure for December.
Exploits and hacks accounted for 96.8% of the total losses, or $122.8 million, across 14 cases.
The largest incident was an attack on the cross-chain bridge Orbit Bridge, where attackers extracted assets worth approximately $81.5 million. The company behind the protocol, Ozys, suspected a former employee of aiding the hack.
In January, the payment service CoinsPaid lost $7.5 million due to a cybersecurity incident. In July 2023, an attack, allegedly by North Korean hackers from the Lazarus Group, resulted in a $37 million loss.
Other significant hacks for the month included GMEE ($15 million), Gamma Strategies ($6.2 million), and Radiant Capital ($4.5 million).
Immunefi experts noted that 100% of the incidents in January occurred in the DeFi sector. In terms of blockchains, Ethereum and BNB Chain accounted for 58% of cases — six and five respectively. Other affected networks included Arbitrum, Solana, Polygon, Conflux Network, and Optimism.
As reported in 2023, Immunefi estimated the industry’s losses from hackers and fraudsters at $1.8 billion. Specialists at PeckShield calculated a different figure — $2.61 billion.