The crypto industry witnessed over 25 hacking incidents in December 2024, leading to losses of approximately $24.69 million, a sharp 71% drop from November’s figures, according to blockchain security firm Peckshield.
This represents a notable decrease in monthly losses, making December one of the least damaging months of the year for the crypto industry. The report, shared by Peckshield Alerts on their X page, provided detailed insights into the hacking incidents that took place in the final month of 2024.
“PeckShieldAlert December 2024 saw 25+ hacks in the crypto space, resulting in ~$24.7 million in losses — a 71% decrease compared to last month.
Top5 Hacks: -LastPass: $12.38 million -Yeifinance: $2.2 million -GemPad: $2.2 million -MEMECoin Drainer: A victim was drained $2.2 million worth of cryptos on SOL -FEGToken: $1.3 million” Peckshield revealed.
The most substantial single incident was the LastPass hack, which accounted for $12.38 million in losses.
Other notable victims included Yeti Finance, GemPad, and FEG, each losing around $2.2 million, as well as another entity identified as “Victim,” which suffered $1.3 million in damages.
Industry Trends and Stolen Funds PeckShield’s analysis shows that stolen funds were moved through various platforms. For example, over 550 Ethereum (ETH), along with substantial amounts of USDC and Bitcoin, were transferred using platforms like ChangeNOW.
Additional amounts of 310 ETH and 520 USDC were traced to wallets connected to the sanctioned mixer Tornado Cash.
The data also highlights a broader trend in 2024, where crypto losses peaked in months like April, which saw a staggering $574.65 million in damages.
Despite this, December’s relatively low figure represents a sharp decline, underscoring improved security measures or changing attacker strategies.
Web3 security firm Hacken reported that crypto hacks in 2024 totalled nearly $3 billion, a figure comparable to 2023.
However, there was a notable increase in attacks exploiting access control vulnerabilities, which accounted for 78% of total losses.
These vulnerabilities affected various sectors, including decentralized finance (DeFi), centralized exchanges, gaming, and metaverse platforms, signaling a shift in attackers’ focus throughout the year.
The declining losses in December may suggest evolving defensive strategies in the industry or changing market dynamics, but the persistence of access control exploits highlights areas where further security improvements are still needed.