In a month full of notable events in the cryptocurrency space, the total value lost to security breaches and hacks has skyrocketed to an astonishing $290 million.
November has proven to be an exceptionally eventful month in the world of cryptocurrency. From early signs of a bullish market to significant developments such as the guilty verdict of FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried and Binance's $4.3 billion settlement, there has been a plethora of dramatic occurrences to unpack.
However, amidst the resurgence of crypto markets and the unfolding of recent events, malicious actors have also been on the prowl, seeking new avenues to exploit cryptocurrency projects. Regrettably, their efforts found considerable success in November, with hackers managing to pilfer over $290 million from their targets.
According to blockchain analytics provider Look On Chain, this substantial sum was stolen through five major security incidents. Leading the list is the centralized cryptocurrency exchange platform Poloniex, which suffered a loss of $118 million.
Crypto projects associated with entrepreneur Justin Sun have been particularly hard-hit by the recent wave of attacks. Poloniex and HTX (formerly known as Huobi), both centralized exchanges within Sun's portfolio, collectively lost $121 million to hackers in November.
Meanwhile, the Heco Bridge hack, which resulted in the theft of over $87 million, affected the Heco chain, a blockchain network supported by Justin Sun's HTX. The bridge protocol, which allowed users to transfer funds in and out of Heco, was compromised in a manner similar to the HTX exploit.
These recent breaches have fueled speculation that the entrepreneur may have orchestrated the security breaches as a means to exit the industry, particularly in light of recent developments involving his major partner, Binance. However, it's important to note that these allegations remain unconfirmed as of the time of this report and may be mere speculation.
DeFi Is Not Immune
A substantial portion of the funds pilfered in November pertained to centralized entities. This was exemplified by Kronos Research's $25 million loss resulting from compromised API keys.
However, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols have also fallen victim to the onslaught. KyberSwap, which experienced a heist of $46.5 million on Thursday, faced its first major security incident since its launch in 2019.
Cryptocurrency investors must exercise caution when engaging with both centralized and decentralized projects. The risks remain significant, and malicious actors are continually searching for ways to exploit the fledgling nature of blockchain-based applications.
