Crypto Market Losses in November Reach $71 Million, Second-Lowest This Year
In November, the crypto industry reported losses of $71 million, marking the second-lowest monthly losses recorded. Blockchain security firm Immunefi highlighted a significant decrease compared to November 2023's losses of $343 million.
Immunefi's data indicates that losses fell by 79% year-over-year and over 4% month-over-month. This trend is notable given that November 2024 was one of the peak months for crypto trading compared to the previous year.
Year-to-date (YTD) statistics show the industry has lost $1.48 billion in 2024 due to hacks and rug pulls across 209 incidents, reflecting a 15% decrease from the $1.7 billion lost during the same timeframe in 2023.
Two major incidents contributed significantly to November's losses: DeFi project Thala Labs incurred $25.5 million in losses, while the meme coin trading terminal DEXX faced losses of $21 million. Notably, DeFi protocols accounted for 100% of the total losses this month.
Hacks remained the primary cause of losses, totaling $70.99 million across 24 incidents, with rug pulls contributing a smaller amount of $25,300 in two cases. Among various blockchains, Binance-backed BNB Chain was the most targeted, responsible for nearly 47% of total losses. Immunefi noted:
“Ethereum experienced 9 incidents, representing 30% of the total. Solana, Polygon, Fantom, Avalanche, Arbitrum, and Aptos each experienced one incident, accounting for 3.3%, respectively.”
Centralized Exchanges (CEXs) Contribute 50% of Crypto Market Losses
Centralized exchanges (CEXs) remain significant targets for hackers. According to Immunefi, CEXs contributed 50% of crypto market losses in 2024, totaling $721 million, the highest share since 2021.
The vulnerability of centralized exchanges increased notably during Q3 2024, when 72% of crypto losses stemmed from CeFi hacks. For instance, the hack of Indian exchange WazirX in July resulted in $235 million in losses.
Immunefi identified that vulnerabilities in centralized finance (CeFi) often arise from compromised hot wallets, allowing attackers to drain funds. In 2024, CEXs lost $724 million across nine incidents, while DeFi platforms faced similar losses across 200 attacks. The firm also observed that blackhat hackers are employing innovative methods to target centralized platforms, including securing fake job placements and impersonating recruiters to infiltrate internal teams and CEX infrastructure.