Top five crypto hacks in 2022

The cryptocurrency space has lost $2.32 billion to hacks so far In 2022, with the so-called decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms most hit.

This figure is still minimal compared to what the industry witnessed in 2021. Last year, hackers stole about $14 billion from the industry, with DeFi contributing a larger percentage.

Here is the list of the five most prominent hacks of 2022.

Ronin Network

The Ronin Network tops the list with a massive loss of $620 million. The network is an Ethereum-based sidechain for the popular play-to-earn game Axie Infinity. Hackers exploited Ronin Network on March 23, swindling about $620 million worth of ETH and USDC.

The hackers employed private keys to facilitate withdrawal from the protocol in two separate transactions illicitly. Currently, the hack is regarded as the biggest DeFi hack in cryptocurrency. Though the attack didn’t become known immediately, it took Ronin Network a week to notice the breach.

Wormhole Bridge

Second, on the list is Wormhole Bridge which suffered about a $320 million loss on February 2. The exploit manifested after a hacker siphoned funds wrapped in Ethereum from the famous cross-chain bridge between blockchains like Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, etc.

According to an analytics outlet identified as Elliptic, Wormhole failed to validate guardian accounts. Therefore allowing the hacker to feast on investors’ funds in the protocol.

Nomad Bridge

The Nomad Bridge aids users in swapping their coins across two different blockchains.

On Aug. 2, hackers drained about $190 million worth of cryptocurrency from the Bridge. They leveraged an upgrade to the protocol’s code to initiate the attack. Likewise, the upgrade allowed a section of the smart contract to be marked valid upon the completion of a transaction. As a result, hackers wired more than what they deposited into the platform.

Beanstalk Farms

Around April, hackers drained about $182 million worth of cryptocurrency from Beanstalk Farms.

According to Peckshield, hackers manipulated the platform’s majority vote governance structure. They employed a flash loan to charge a controlling stake in Beanstalk Farms. Then, they voted to send $182 million to their account.

Initially, Peckshield disclosed that the hacker stole about $80 million.

Wintermute

The last and most recent hack to have intruded into the cryptocurrency space.

On September 20, the hacker claimed $160 million from Wintermute through its DeFi section. The firm’s CEO confirmed that the hacker used a bug in the Ethereum vanity address-generating solution to carry out the attack.