Last year, crypto platform hacks dropped by 50%... but number of incidents increased.

Blockchain data analytics company Chainalysis has released a report showing that the amount of funds stolen by cryptocurrency platforms in security incidents dropped by more than 50% last year, but the number of incidents increased. According to the data, $1.7 billion was stolen from crypto platforms in hacks last year, down about 54.3% from 2022 ($3.7 billion). However, the number of hacking incidents increased slightly in 2023 (231) compared to 2022 (219). Chinalysis attributed the significant drop in stolen funds to a decline in DeFi hacks, saying, "The value of funds stolen through DeFi platforms fell 63.7% year-over-year. DeFi hacks increased significantly in 2021 and 2022, as DeFi protocols focused on growth and not enough on implementing and maintaining robust security systems."

Another report from blockchain data platform Flipside said that blockchain users and activity continued to grow last year. According to the report, the eight major blockchains attracted 62 million new users. Of these, Ethereum (ETH) saw the largest influx with 15.4 million, followed by Polygon (15.24 million) and Bitcoin (10.65 million). "User growth has been strong since March of last year, following the collapse of Silicon Valley banks," said Flipside. It can be interpreted that the decline in trust in centralized financial services has driven demand for blockchain. Also, last year, NFT activity decreased and DeFi activity increased, and this trend is likely to continue this year."