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The Number Of Hacks Is Down - Is That Good News or Bad News?

TL;DR

  • According to the latest report from TRM Labs, ~$400M worth of crypto was stolen in the first three months of 2023.

  • That number - $400M - is 70% less than the same period last year.

  • There are a few reasons why this could be the case, but either way, the less crypto stolen, the better - and we hope that continues.

Full Story

This might sound bad at first, but hear us out.

According to the latest report from TRM Labs, ~$400M worth of crypto was stolen in the first three months of 2023.

(See - sounds bad).

That number - $400M - is actually 70% less than the same period last year.

(Slightly less bad).

So why the dramatic decrease?

The positive take:

  • As projects mature, they become less vulnerable to attacks.

    The more hacks that've occurred in the past --> the more projects know what to account for --> the safer they become --> the less overall number of hacks.

The neither-here-nor-there take:

  • There were still plenty of attacks on crypto projects, but the magnitude was wayyy down.

    For example, the Axie Infinity Ronin bridge hack in March last year was worth $650M alone - so maybe there are just less, big hacks.

The negative take:

  • Maybe, just maybe, the number of attacks has reduced because people have stopped caring as much.

    Developers have moved to AI, as have the funds from venture capital firms.

Or maybe it's a combination of all of the above.

Either way, less $$ stolen is good, and we hope that continues.