The crypto industry lost approximately $4 billion in digital assets to hacking, fraud, scams, and rug thefts last year, a decrease of more than 50% compared to the more than $8 billion stolen in 2021.

According to a recent report from Immunefi, a security services and bug bounty platform for the Web3 ecosystem, the crypto space lost $3.9 billion in 2022, with five major exploits totaling $2,361,000,000 alone, representing 59.8% of all losses in the year.

Among the various forms of illegal activities, hackers accounted for the vast majority of crypto losses in 2022. More specifically, hackers stole more than $3.7 billion, or more than 95% of all cryptocurrencies lost in the year. Frauds, scams and rug thefts accounted for just 4.4% of total losses. The report added:

“In 2022, DeFi remained the top target for successful exploits at 80.5% compared to CeFi at 19.5% of total losses. DeFi has suffered $3,180,023,103 in total losses in 2022, at 155 incidents. This figure represents an increase of 56.2% compared to 2021, when DeFi lost $2,036,015,896, in 107 incidents.”

Overall, 2022 can be considered one of the worst years for the crypto ecosystem, as many decentralized finance (DeFi) and centralized finance (CeFi) platforms experienced major catastrophic events. Among the most notable examples, the Terra/LUNA ecosystem imploded in May, while the major cryptocurrency exchange FTX crashed in early November.

Binance’s native BNB blockchain and Ethereum were the two most attacked blockchains last year, with 65 and 49 incidents, respectively. Together, BNB Chain and Ethereum accounted for more than half of blockchain attacks at 63.3%. Solana, backed by FTX, was the third most attacked chain with 12 incidents, or 6.7% of all attacks in 2022.

It is worth noting that a portion of the stolen funds was also recovered last year. “In total, $204,157,000 of stolen funds have been recovered in 12 specific instances. This number represents only 5.2% of total losses in 2022,” the report says.

Axie Infinity’s Ronin blockchain hack that saw hackers make off with around $625 million worth of Ethereum and USDC was the largest crypto hack of 2022, followed by $326 million from Wormhole, $190 million from Nomad , $570 million from BNB Chain and $650 million from FTX, which cumulatively account for 60% of all losses in 2022.

Mitchell Amador, CEO of Immunefi, noted that the losses are a reminder that the Web3 space needs better security practices. He said:

“Looking at the losses suffered by the community in 2022 is a reminder of the importance of prioritizing security and implementing strong and consistent measures into 2023. By proactively identifying and addressing vulnerabilities, we can protect the community from harm and build trust in field .”