In April, the crypto landscape witnessed a staggering $103.7 million worth of losses in crypto exploits, exit scams, and flash loan attacks, casting a grim shadow on the future of blockchain technology and markets alike. According to a report from CertiK, a crypto security and auditing firm, the total loss for the year so far has reached $429.7 million.
Major crypto exploits in April include a $25.4 million loss due to an exploit of several MEV trading bots on April 3, the theft of $22 million in a hot wallet exploit at the Bitrue exchange, and a $13 million loss caused by the hack of the South Korean GDAC exchange. The cumulative amount lost in crypto and DeFi exploits for April was $74.5 million, accounting for about half of the $145 million exploited in the first four months of this year.
In addition to these exploits, flash loan attacks caused a loss of around $20 million, with Yearn Finance being the most notable victim after an old smart contract was hacked on April 13. Exit scams, on the other hand, took $9.4 million in April, led by the Merlin DEX exit scam which saw a loss of $2.7 million. Interestingly, this loss occurred after the protocol was audited by CertiK, highlighting the need for better security and transparency measures.
With over 50 crypto exploits, scams, hacks, and rug pulls in April alone, the escalation of such incidents poses significant challenges to the blockchain community. Large parts of these incidents involved memecoin rug pulls, drawing attention to the potential issues with the hype-driven memecoin markets.
However, the role of major crypto projects, investors, and regulatory authorities in mitigating such risks cannot be understated. As seen in the case of the Merlin DEX exit scam, CertiK stepped in and launched a compensation plan, urging the guilty developer to return 80% of the stolen funds in exchange for a 20% white-hat bounty.
Although the blockchain landscape is still fighting to maintain investor trust and safeguard assets, skeptics argue whether we might only be at the beginning of a turbulent year for the crypto community. Will the community and regulatory authorities promptly address these pressing concerns, ensuring the safety of users’ funds, or will the cryptocurrency and blockchain market continue to struggle under the weight of these ongoing attacks?
As the stakes continue to rise, it becomes imperative for stakeholders in the crypto ecosystem to identify and address the root causes of these incidents, while ensuring the long-term viability and safety of blockchain technology and its applications in the market.
Source: Cointelegraph
https://cointelegraph.com/news/april-s-crypto-scams-exploits-and-hacks-lead-to-103m-lost-certik
