Chainalysis: $2 billion worth of cryptocurrencies stolen from inter-network bridges in six months

Chainalysis: $2 billion worth of cryptocurrencies stolen from inter-network bridges in six months

The recent Nomad bridge hack, in which hackers managed to withdraw $190 million worth of assets, was the 13th hack in the industry since the beginning of the year. The total amount of damage was $2 billion.

According to Chainalysis, the first quarter of 2022 was one of the most profitable for hackers in terms of stolen funds. So, at the end of March, the inter-network bridge of the Ronin blockchain was attacked, during which the attackers withdrew $624 million in ETH coins and USDC tokens.

“Attacks like this are popular because bridges are the central point of storage for funds. It does not really matter how exactly the funds are stored - they are locked in a smart contract or are held by a third-party centralized custodial service. In any case, if hackers get access to the smart contract of the bridge, they get access to the funds,” Chainalysis explains.

Analysts stressed that the overall design and functionality of bridging bridges has not yet been established, and developers often make mistakes when planning the architecture of smart contracts. This is what attackers use. If previously centralized cryptocurrency exchanges were the most popular target for hackers, now criminals have switched to DeFi projects, including internet bridges. Therefore, decentralized finance projects need to “invest in security as soon as possible.”

Earlier, Chainalysis analysts reported that pro-Russian militias, militias and volunteers operating in Ukraine have received $2.2 million worth of donations in cryptocurrencies since February.

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