Crypto industry suffers huge losses of $103M in April, CertiK reports

In April 2023, the cryptocurrency industry suffered huge losses amounting to more than $103 million. Several issues like cyberattacks, fraudulent activities, and sudden loan demands were responsible for these attacks.

Crypto Industry Loses Over $100M in April Due to Cyberattacks and Fraudulent Activities

CertiK, a company that specializes in blockchain security and auditing, recently released a report detailing these unfortunate events. According to the report, a total of $103.7 million was lost in April alone, bringing the total loss for the year to $429.7 million.

This news is a big blow to the cryptocurrency world, as investors and traders are now left to deal with the aftermath of these losses.

The month of April was marked by several significant crypto exploits that caused major losses in the industry. For instance, there was an exploit of multiple MEV trading bots on April 3 that resulted in a loss of $25.4 million.

In addition to that, Bitrue Exchange experienced a hot wallet exploit that saw $22 million being stolen. Furthermore, the South Korean GDAC exchange was hacked, leading to a loss of $13 million.

CertiK reported that in the month of April, the total amount of money lost to crypto and DeFi (decentralized finance) exploits was $74.5 million. This accounts for almost half of the total amount of $145 million that has been lost to such exploits in the first four months of the year.

Furthermore, flash loan attacks were responsible for around $20 million in losses during the month. Yearn Finance was the main target of these attacks, as a hacker took advantage of an outdated smart contract on April 13. Additionally, CertiK reported that exit scams resulted in $9.4 million in lost funds during the month. The biggest exit scam was carried out by Merlin DEX, which lost $2.7 million.

On April 26, CertiK announced that it was looking into a possible issue with the way a cryptocurrency exchange was managing its private keys.

This is concerning because private keys are like passwords that grant access to users’ digital assets, so any mismanagement of these keys can result in theft. In addition, the exchange experienced an exit scam, where the founders shut down the platform and stole users’ funds after CertiK audited the platform and warned about the risks of centralization.

Rekt Database revealed that April saw more than 50 cases of crypto exploits, scams, hacks, and rug pulls, with a significant number of them being related to memecoins. One of the latest incidents involved the Ovix protocol, which operates on the Polygon network and lost $2 million due to a flash loan attack on April 28.

CertiK has initiated a compensation program in response to the attack and has requested the rogue developer to give back 80% of the taken funds. Additionally, they have offered a 20% white hat bounty.

The cryptocurrency industry seems to be facing a consistent problem with cyber attacks, despite the increased regulatory scrutiny and improved security measures. The ongoing issue with crypto exploits and scams puts investors at risk and makes it difficult for legitimate projects to gain trust and credibility in the market.

It highlights the importance of thorough security audits and the need for better regulation and enforcement in the cryptocurrency space. While some progress has been made in recent years, there is still a long way to go to ensure the safety and protection of investors in the industry.

Crypto Scams Continue to Plague The Ecosystem in all Shapes & Forms

Experts in the cryptocurrency industry have observed a rise in the number of fake memecoins being launched in recent months.

One investigator, named ZachXBT, discovered that a single wallet address was responsible for launching 114 memecoin scams in a mere 45 days. It was noted that the scammer repeatedly sent stolen funds to the same deposit address, though it is difficult to determine the exact amount earned from the scams as the funds were spread across multiple wallets.

Memecoins are digital currencies based on popular internet memes and jokes, but they generally do not have any practical purpose.

CoinGurruu, a user on Twitter, revealed on April 27 that an alleged scammer has been launching 2 to 5 memecoin rugs daily for nearly two years. The scammer is using a specific wallet address to execute the fraud. To avoid being caught, the scammer is dividing the stolen funds into smaller amounts.

In a separate case, ZachXBT found another alleged scammer via a tattoo of their wallet address. Twitter user NazareAmarga, whose real name is Gabriel Marques, is accused of launching a memecoin aimed at tricking Nakamigos NFT project holders.

The wallet address tattooed on Marques’s back is believed to have been heavily involved in the scam, which allegedly earned around $110,000 worth of Ether.

It remains unclear why such activities have not yet been flagged by Coinbase, but it is speculated that the funds are being sent in smaller amounts to avoid detection.

In related news, a popular YouTube channel called DidYouKnowGaming was hacked by an anonymous person who tried to promote XRP cryptocurrency scams. Fortunately, YouTube intervened quickly and prevented the hacker from causing major damage.

DidYouKnowGaming regained control of their account after YouTube helped them restore access. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that YouTube channels have been targeted for crypto scams.

Earlier this year, the popular channel Linus Tech Tips was also hacked and had several crypto scam videos live-streamed. It’s unclear how hackers are gaining access to these accounts, but YouTubers have been able to regain control and recover deleted videos.

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