One of the obstacles to the mainstream adoption of digital currency has been hacking. Some high-profile thefts have occurred on various cryptocurrency exchanges and platforms, deterring investors from putting their money in them.

It has been argued that blockchain projects are secure, but attacks over the years have demonstrated that this is only partially true. Over $3.8 billion worth of cryptocurrency was stolen from users in 2022, according to blockchain data platform Chainalysis. Take a look at some of the largest crypto hacks to date.

Ronin Network: $625 Million

The largest cryptocurrency hack to date was conducted in March 2022 and targeted the network that supports the popular Axie Infinity blockchain gaming platform. Hackers breached the Ronin Network and made off with around $625 million worth of Ethereum and the USDC stablecoin. The U.S. officials said that a North Korean state-backed hacking collective, Lazarus Group, was linked to the theft. Binance recovered $5.8 million of the stolen funds a month later, but it would still be the largest hack in history as of Dec. 2, 2023.

Poly Network: $611 Million

In August 2021, a lone hacker pounced on a vulnerability in the Poly Network decentralized finance platform and made off with over $600 million. The project’s developers issued an appeal on X (formerly Twitter) for the stolen funds, which included $33 million Tether. The Poly Network then established several addresses for the funds to be returned to, and the unknown hacker began cooperating. After only two days, around $300 million had been recovered, and it emerged that the hacker had targeted the network “for fun” or as a challenge.

FTX: $600 Million

In November 2022, FTX, one of the most influential players in the crypto industry, declared bankruptcy. On the day it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, more than $600 million was stolen from its crypto wallets. Many FTX wallet holders reported $0 balances in their FTX.com and FTX US wallets.

The crypto exchange confirmed the hack on its Telegram channel, saying: ''FTX has been hacked. FTX apps are malware. Delete them. Chat is open. Don't go on FTX site as it might download Trojans." FTX General Counsel Ryne Miller later tweeted that the crypto exchange was making ''every effort to secure all assets, wherever located."

Binance BNB Bridge: $586 million

In one of the most high-profile attacks in cryptocurrency history, the Binance exchange was hacked for $570 million in October 2022. A cross-chain bridge, BSC Token Hub, was exploited by hackers, who created and withdrew 2 million extra Binance Coins (BNB). A bug in a smart contract enabled the hack, highlighting the need for tighter blockchain security.

Coincheck: $534 Million

In January 2018, the Japanese exchange Coincheck suffered a theft of $523 million NEM coins valued at about $534 million. The vulnerability was created by a hot wallet, which is a live cryptocurrency wallet and not as safe as an offline cold storage wallet. At the time, the Coincheck hack was larger even than the notorious Mt. Gox hack; NEM Foundation president Lon Wong described it at the time as "the biggest theft in the history of the world."

Coincheck survived the hack and continued operating despite being bought out a few months later by the Japanese financial services company Monex Group.

Mt. Gox: $473 Million

The first major crypto hack occurred in 2011 when the crypto exchange Mt. Gox lost 25,000 bitcoins worth approximately $400,000. At that time, the crypto exchange handled nearly 70% of all bitcoin transactions.

The attack didn't stop, and Mt. Gox was attacked again in 2014. It lost almost 650,000 of its customers' bitcoins and about 100,000 of its own. At the time, that was 7% of all bitcoins and was worth approximately $473 million. Initial reasons for the coins' disappearance were unclear, but later evidence showed that the coins were stolen from the company's hot wallet.

Wormhole: $325 Million

The decentralized finance platform Wormhole was targeted in February 2022, with $325 million taken by hackers. The attack had been made possible by an upgrade to the project's GitHub repository, which was not then deployed to the live project. The popular cryptocurrency bridge had to plug the hole in the project's finances after the funds were not recovered. This was also the largest theft that included Solana, one of the rivals to Ethereum's dominance in the worlds of DeFi and NFTs. Up to $47 million was taken in the blockchain's native SOL token.

Euler Finance: $197 Million

Euler Finance is a borrowing and lending protocol platform based on the Ethereum blockchain. On March 13, 2023, hackers conducted a flash loan attack, grabbing $197 million in wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), DAI (a MakerDOA stablecoin), staked ether (stETH), and USDC. A flash loan attack occurs when a hacker uses a flash loan—a loan without collateral that must be paid in full in the same transaction, often used by traders in arbitrage—to withdraw massive amounts, letting the thieves manipulate prices.

However, in a strange twist, the hacker(s) began returning the stolen funds in increments several days later, citing they were concerned about their safety.

Bitmart: $196 Million

December 2021 saw a hack of the Bitmart centralized exchange with losses of $196 million. The hack was first spotted by a security analysis firm, which noted BitMart addresses being drained of their balance. Around $100 million in various cryptocurrencies were funneled via Ethereum, with another $96 million exiting through Binance Smart Chain. All the tokens were moved to an address labeled by Etherscan as the "BitMart Hacker."

Nomad Bridge: $190 Million

Only one month before the Wintermute breach was a more significant hack, an attack on Nomad Bridge. The hackers drained $190 million of the project’s funds. Nomad is a cryptocurrency bridge that lets users swap tokens between blockchains, but those have become the latest target for hackers. That is due to the considerable value of assets they hold and the complexity of the smart contract code on which they run. Nomad Bridge later recovered $36 million of the stolen funds.

Beanstalk: $182 Million

This hack involved the exploitation of a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform using a flash loan. After borrowing $1 billion, the hacker took a 67% controlling stake in the project and approved a transfer of funds to their wallet before repaying the loan and disappearing. The entire process of executing the hack took only 13 seconds.

Wintermute: $162 Million

Wintermute, a leading cryptocurrency market maker, was attacked in September 2022. The project lost about $160 million in a hack, which made things worse for Wintermute because they owed $200 million to other market participants. The CEO offered a 10% bounty to the hacker if they returned the funds.

Multichain: $125 Million

Multichain claimed to be a cross-chain router protocol, which theoretically would allow nearly all blockchains to communicate with each other and transfer assets across them—something that was and is needed for Web 3 to continue progressing.

Multichain's CEO, known as Zhaojun, was reportedly arrested in China and disappeared, leaving analysts to believe the theft was the result of a rug pull, where system owners/developers create a product, attract funds, and suddenly leave with the money.

The Bottom Line

With the addition of new products, the cryptocurrency industry has grown rapidly since the mid-2010s. The sector may even be advancing too fast, as the number of hacks and thefts demonstrate exploitable weaknesses. Back-to-back hacks have exposed the vulnerability of the crypto industry and undermined investors' confidence. To avoid further damage to sentiment, developers need to bring more security to the blockchain networks.

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