Over $10 Billion Has Been Lost To DeFi Exploits In 2021

Decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms have been the target of criminal attacks this year. Investors in the blockchain-based form of finance have lost billions of dollars to criminals that target the platforms. The total amount of money deposited at DeFi services has spiked from just $500 million in 2019 to $247 billion this year. Related Reading | Dog-Themed DeFi Project Mysteriously Loses Fundraised $60 Million According to a report from London-based firm Elliptic, the overall losses caused by DeFi exploits have totaled $12 billion in the past year. Out of that amount, fraud and theft accounted for $10.5 billion, seven times the amount last year. DeFi, which has drawn in billions of dollars in investor funds, has also been a frequent target by hackers. They exploit poorly protected protocols, mostly using flash loans. Related Reading | Poly Network Confirms Hacker Has Returned Most Of The Stolen Crypto One of the popular attacks this year was the Poly Network hack. Hackers exploited a vulnerability in the multi-chain interoperability protocol. And they took off with roughly $600 million worth of various cryptocurrencies. They however returned most of the stolen funds. DeFi – The Wild West Of Cryptocurrencies Elliptic is a firm that tracks movements of funds on the digital ledgers that underpin cryptocurrencies. It recently reported that DeFi exploits amounted to $12 billion this year. DeFi is often called the...