Cryptocurrency history is marred by multiple hacks that have resulted in millions of dollars ost by companies and end users
Mt. Gox (2014) - Mt. Gox was once the world's largest Bitcoin exchange until it was hacked in 2014. Hackers stole approximately 850,000 Bitcoin, worth about $460 million at the time. The hack resulted in the bankruptcy of the exchange and the loss of funds for many users.
Coincheck (2018) - In January 2018, the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck was hacked, resulting in the loss of approximately $530 million worth of NEM tokens. The hack is considered to be the largest cryptocurrency theft in history.
Bitfinex (2016) - Bitfinex, a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange, suffered a hack in August 2016 that resulted in the loss of 120,000 Bitcoin, worth around $72 million at the time. Bitfinex was able to recover some of the funds through a controversial token issuance.
Binance (2019) - Binance, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, suffered a hack in May 2019. Hackers were able to steal approximately 7,000 Bitcoin, worth about $40 million at the time. Binance was able to cover the losses using its Secure Asset Fund for Users.
Poly Network (2021) - Poly Network, a decentralized finance platform, was hacked in August 2021. Hackers were able to steal approximately $600 million worth of various cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, Binance Coin, and Polygon. The hacker returned the funds shortly after the attack and claimed to have done it for fun and to expose vulnerabilities in the platform.
DAO (2016) - The DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) was a venture capital fund built on the Ethereum blockchain. In June 2016, hackers exploited a vulnerability in the code and stole approximately $50 million worth of Ethereum. The hack resulted in a contentious hard fork of the Ethereum blockchain, which resulted in the creation of Ethereum and Ethereum Classic.
Parity Wallet (2017) - Parity Wallet, a popular Ethereum wallet, was hacked in July 2017. Hackers exploited a vulnerability in the code and stole approximately $30 million worth of Ethereum. The hack was a result of a bug in Parity's multi-sig wallet, which was supposed to be a secure way to manage Ethereum funds.
KuCoin (2020) - KuCoin, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, suffered a hack in September 2020. Hackers were able to steal approximately $281 million worth of various cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. KuCoin was able to recover some of the funds through freezing accounts and working with other exchanges.
Ronin hack (2022) - Hackers stole more than 625 million USD worth Ethereum and the USDC stablecoin of which less than 1% was recovered by Binance making this one of the largest hacks in history. A North Korean group called Lazarus was linked to this theft.
FTX (2022) -A post by FTX on their official Telegram channel read "'FTX has been hacked. FTX apps are malware. Delete them. Chat is open. Don't go on FTX site as it might download Trojans." Users found their balance was nil and FTX later filed for bankruptcy. About 700 million USD was lost.
Binance (2022) - A bug in the smart contracts was exploited and more than 500 million USD of crypto disappeared. This shattered hopes of many as Binance is the leading exchange for cryptocurrency.
Were you affected in any of these hacks?
