- Hackers stole $120 million from cryptocurrencies in September, the second-lowest monthly loss in 2024.
- Exchanges BingX and Indodax suffered major losses, making up more than half of the stolen amount.
- Over 20 hacking incidents affected both centralized exchanges and decentralized platforms during the month.
Hackers took $120 million from cryptocurrencies in September, making it the second-lowest month for losses in 2024 after April. According to blockchain investigation firm Peckshield, these losses came from over 20 separate attacks.
Centralized exchanges continue to be frequent targets. In September, exchanges BingX and Indodax faced significant breaches, accounting for more than half of the month’s losses. BingX lost $44 million, while Indodax suffered a $21 million theft.
Losses in September were 61.7% lower than in August, when hackers stole nearly $314 million from the crypto ecosystem. Despite the decrease, vulnerabilities remain a concern.
Decentralized Platforms Also Affected
Not only exchanges were hit; decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms faced attacks as well. The DeFi protocol Penpie lost $27 million due to an exploit. Other affected platforms included Delta Prime, which lost $6 million, Truflation with $5.6 million taken, and Bedrock, which lost $2 million.
Some projects managed to recover funds. Crypto lender Shezmu, initially hacked for $5 million, was able to get back part of the stolen money after negotiating with the hacker. The Telegram bot Banana Gun announced refunds for traders affected by its $3 million hack.
Ongoing Struggles for WazirX
Indian crypto exchange WazirX remains the biggest victim of a 2024 hack as of October 1. On July 18, the exchange lost $235 million when one of its Ethereum wallets was compromised. Following the incident, WazirX halted all crypto and cash withdrawals to investigate.
Three months later, the exchange has not provided a plan to compensate users who lost funds. In recent news, rival exchange CoinSwitch started legal action against WazirX to recover 2% of its assets, valued at about $6.2 million. Despite efforts to recover funds, WazirX stated that 43% of customer funds are permanently lost.
