Over the summer, an anonymous hacker stole roughly $600 million in cryptocurrency from Poly Network, a decentralized finance network many outside the crypto world had likely never heard of. Then the hacker gave it back.
Four months later, hackers stole at least $150 million from crypto exchange Bitmart. According to one analysis, unidentified hackers used a stolen private key to open two "hot wallets" and extract funds.
Security incidents like these are not new in the crypto world, but the size of these hacks appears to be growing as cryptocurrency prices have surged over the past year, drawing more mainstream attention.
Five of the 10 largest crypto thefts of all time have happened this year, according to data compiled by consumer website Comparitech. And these incidents may only continue due to increased cryptocurrency usage, according to financial tech experts.
Here's what you should know about what's happening -- and how to keep your digital assets safe.
What is happening?
The two main targets of crypto hacks currently are centralized exchanges and decentralized finance (DeFi) services, according to Tom Robinson, chief scientist at London-based crypto compliance firm Elliptic.
Continue reading: https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/12/tech/crypto-exchange-hacks-explainer/index.html
Four months later, hackers stole at least $150 million from crypto exchange Bitmart. According to one analysis, unidentified hackers used a stolen private key to open two "hot wallets" and extract funds.
Security incidents like these are not new in the crypto world, but the size of these hacks appears to be growing as cryptocurrency prices have surged over the past year, drawing more mainstream attention.
Five of the 10 largest crypto thefts of all time have happened this year, according to data compiled by consumer website Comparitech. And these incidents may only continue due to increased cryptocurrency usage, according to financial tech experts.
Here's what you should know about what's happening -- and how to keep your digital assets safe.
What is happening?
The two main targets of crypto hacks currently are centralized exchanges and decentralized finance (DeFi) services, according to Tom Robinson, chief scientist at London-based crypto compliance firm Elliptic.
Continue reading: https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/12/tech/crypto-exchange-hacks-explainer/index.html
