Crypto Losses Surge 1,163% in April, Driven by $331M Bitcoin Phishing Scam

Crypto losses in April surged by 1,163%, reaching a total of $364 million, marking a significant increase from the $28.8 million lost in March. This spike was largely attributed to a nearly $331 million Bitcoin phishing scam, which was identified as the fifth-largest hack in the history of cryptocurrency. The scam targeted an elderly U.S. citizen, and the stolen funds were subsequently laundered through 300 wallets and over 20 exchanges. This incident underscores the growing sophistication of cyber threats in the crypto space and the need for enhanced security measures to protect investors.

The dramatic increase in losses highlights the vulnerabilities within the crypto ecosystem, particularly in the realm of phishing scams, which exploit human error and trust to steal funds. The incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of vigilance and education in the crypto community, as well as the need for robust security protocols to safeguard against such attacks. The impact of this hack is expected to reverberate through the industry, prompting calls for greater regulatory oversight and improved security practices to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Excluding the Bitcoin heist, April’s crypto losses were $34 million, a 21% jump from March. Phishing scams, bolstered by the Bitcoin heist, were the main culprits for losses while social engineering, access control hacks and price manipulation exploits rounded out the top four types of attacks that stole the most value. Over $18 million was returned for the month. Decentralized exchange KiloEx suspended platform operations after suffering a $7.5 million exploit; however, on April 15, the exploiter returned all the stolen funds, only four days after the attack. The ZKsync Association also recovered $5 million worth of stolen tokens from an April 15 security incident involving its airdrop distribution contract. Meanwhile, DeFi protocol Loopscale recovered half of the funds stolen during a major exploit on April 26, when manipulating its RateX PT token pricing functions led to the theft of $5.7 million in USDC (USDC) and 1,200 Solana (SOL).

Losses to crypto scams, exploits and hacks were declining in the final days of 2024, with December registering the smallest amount stolen at $28.6 million, compared to $63.8 million in November and $115.8 million in October. February still has the most significant number of crypto losses for the year so far, with $1.53 billion. Most of that was from the $1.4 billion Bybit hack by North Korea’s Lazarus Group, which also holds the crown for the largest crypto hack ever. The incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of vigilance and education in the crypto community, as well as the need for robust security protocols to safeguard against such attacks. The impact of this hack is expected to reverberate through the industry, prompting calls for greater regulatory oversight and improved security practices to prevent similar incidents in the future.