7 Biggest Crypto Thefts of Early 2022

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Web3 should be a big revolution, making the internet decentralized and supported by cryptocurrencies. But in reality the world is still like this. Even on the Web3, the rich monopolize resources, the police and government are still watching every move, and people are still just as evil.

Another thing that the revolution seems unable to fix is ​​crime. Especially cyber crime. Just like in Web2, blockchain is still governed by software, and software can still be hacked by Web3.

Exchanges, NFT, DAO, decentralized credit-based stablecoin protocols have all been hacked. Since January 2022, more than a billion dollars have been stolen. The year isn't even over yet, but there are so many crypto thefts to sum up:

1. Ronin (USD 625 Million)

One of the biggest cryptocurrency heists of all time took place last March 2022. The target is Axie Infinity, a blockchain-based online game where players gather and score NFTs.

Cybercriminals attacked the Ronin blockchain, on which the Axie project was built, stealing tokens worth USD 625 million. The FBI said the North Korean hacking group "Lazarus" was responsible for the theft.

2. Crypto.com (USD 35 Million)

Crypto.com, a popular cryptocurrency exchange service, claimed to have been hacked by cybercriminals in January 2022. Hackers circumvented 2-factor authentication, managed to steal nearly USD 35 million in cryptocurrency from the platform.

3. Rari Capital and Fei Protocol Hacked (USD 80 Million)

On April 30, 2022, two decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, Rari Capital and the Fei protocol, were robbed by cybercriminals who used a reentrancy vulnerability to steal over USD 80 million of cryptocurrency.

4. Wormhole (USD 325 Million)

Wormhole is a DeFi cross-chain protocol, facilitating the secure transfer of tokens from one crypto ecosystem to another. Unfortunately, Wormhole asset transfers are not always secure.

In February 2022, cybercriminals exploited a vulnerability in Wormhole's smart contract code to siphon off 120,000 wETH, a variant of Ethereum, which was equivalent to approximately USD 325 million at the time of the theft.

5. Beanstalk (USD 182 Million)

In April 2022, hackers targeted crypto firm Beanstalk, which describes itself as a “decentralized credit-based stablecoin protocol.” Despite using the cool name of the protocol, it still didn't stop cybercriminal attacks from costing around USD 182 million in crypto. The hacker then transfers the funds to a private wallet.

6. Cashio (USD 52 Million)

Cashio is a stablecoin project of the Solana blockchain that issues CASH tokens. Unfortunately, a hacker exploited a vulnerability in the project's technology. The crooks ended up making USD 52 million in CASH, sending the token value plummeting to USD 0.00005. The hacker later claimed that he would give the money to charity.

7. Bored Ape Theft Via Instagram (134 NFT)

Bored Ape Yacht Club is Yuga Labs' most popular NFT collection. The collection features images of bored monkeys wearing a variety of ever-changing outfits. The Instagram account for BAYC was hacked in late April, allowing cybercriminals to carry out a phishing scam that netted about 134 BAYCs worth millions.(*)