Top Crypto Hacks in November 2023: BitOK Analytical Report
November turned out to be a record-breaking month for cryptocurrency theft. Structures associated with the same businessman suffered the most significant losses.
The penultimate month of 2023 took the top spot for the highest volume of stolen cryptocurrency throughout the year. According to our calculations, investors lost almost $330 million ($329.8 million) in cryptocurrency due to hacking attacks in November alone.
This figure is $22 million (approximately 6%) higher than the numbers from September 2023 when hackers made off with just over $308 million. However, it's $183 million (about 35.5%) less than the losses incurred in November 2022.
This figure is $22 million (approximately 6%) higher than the numbers from September 2023 when hackers made off with just over $308 million. However, it's $183 million (about 35.5%) less than the losses incurred in November 2022.
Out of the nine incidents, only two occurred outside the Ethereum ecosystem. Nearly half of the hacks resulted from compromising private keys. The exact methods used by the perpetrators remain unclear
Justin Sun's announcement regarding the Poloniex hack. Source: twitter.com
In November 2023, the most significant loss was suffered by the centralized cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex. Affiliated with Chinese entrepreneur Justin Sun (also the founder of the TRON ecosystem), the exchange lost around $126 million in cryptocurrency.
The second spot in terms of hacks goes to the cross-chain bridge Heco, utilized by the cryptocurrency exchange HTX (formerly known as Huobi). As a result of the attack, attackers made off with over $86.5 million from the project in cryptocurrency.
The second spot in terms of hacks goes to the cross-chain bridge Heco, utilized by the cryptocurrency exchange HTX (formerly known as Huobi). As a result of the attack, attackers made off with over $86.5 million from the project in cryptocurrency.
Justin Sun's statement about the HTX and Heco hack. Source: twitter.com
HTX itself took the third position in hacking incidents for November 2023. During the hack of the Heco cross-chain bridge, unknown individuals gained access to HTX wallets and withdrew approximately $26.4 million in the Ethereum ecosystem.
● Interestingly, this marks the second incident for HTX in 2023. In September, the exchange lost almost $8 million due to unauthorized access to private keys. However, in October, the hacker agreed to return the stolen cryptocurrency in exchange for a reward of 250 ETH (approximately $511,000 at the current rate).
In November alone, structures associated with Justin Sun lost nearly $240 million in cryptocurrencies. In all cases, there are grounds to believe that the attacks were carried out by compromising private keys, as the stolen cryptocurrencies were withdrawn from hot wallets.
According to our calculations, more than 50% of the incidents in November 2023 were related to attacks on centralized platforms rather than manipulations of smart contract architectures.
Here is a breakdown of the November 2023 hacking incidents:
According to our calculations, more than 50% of the incidents in November 2023 were related to attacks on centralized platforms rather than manipulations of smart contract architectures.
Here is a breakdown of the November 2023 hacking incidents:
