Over the past decade, the cryptocurrency landscape has been marred by a series of high-profile hacks and security breaches, each exposing vulnerabilities in the nascent industry. These incidents have not only resulted in the loss of billions of dollars in digital assets but have also led to significant changes in how blockchain technology and security are approached.
Loss: Approximately 850,000 BTC (450 million USD at the time)
Mt. Gox, once the largest Bitcoin exchange, was hacked due to security vulnerabilities. The attackers siphoned off a massive amount of Bitcoin, leading to the collapse of the exchange and a long, drawn-out bankruptcy process that is still impacting users.
Loss: Approximately 3.6 million ETH (~50 million USD at the time)
The DAO was a decentralized autonomous organization built on the Ethereum blockchain. A vulnerability in the smart contract code allowed an attacker to drain a significant portion of the funds.
Loss: Around 120,000 BTC ($72 million USD at the time)
Bitfinex, a major cryptocurrency exchange, suffered a security breach where hackers exploited the platform’s wallets. The stolen Bitcoin has since been gradually moved by the attackers, though a portion has been recovered by authorities over the years.
Loss: 523 million NEM (XEM) tokens (approx. 530 USD million at the time)
Coincheck, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, was hacked due to poor security practices. This attack is one of the largest cryptocurrency heists in history in terms of value.
Loss: Over 600 million USD (in various cryptocurrencies)
A vulnerability in Poly Network’s Digital finance (DeFi) platform allowed a hacker to steal various cryptocurrencies across different blockchains. Interestingly, the hacker later returned most of the stolen funds, claiming the hack was done to expose the vulnerability.
Loss: Around 625 million USD (173,600 ETH and 25.5 million USD Coin)
The Ronin network, which supports the popular blockchain game Axie Infinity, has been hacked due to compromised validator nodes. This attack is considered one of the largest in the DeFi space, resulting in a significant impact to the Axie Infinity ecosystem.
Loss: Estimated over 400 million USD
In the midst of FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings, it was revealed that over $400 million in cryptocurrency had been stolen from the exchange. The exact details of the hack remain unclear and the investigation is ongoing.
Loss: Approximately 190 million USD
Nomad, a cross-chain messaging protocol, was exploited due to a security flaw in its smart contract. The exploit was easy to replicate, as multiple users drained the stored funds in a series of transactions.