In August 2024, the cryptocurrency ecosystem recorded its smallest monthly losses of the year. However, this development, which could be very encouraging for potential investors, is accompanied by increasing year-to-date (YTD) losses, indicating that the nascent industry could see more losses due to bad actors in 2024 than in the previous year.
August sees lowest crypto losses in 2024
According to blockchain security company ImmunefiThe digital asset industry recorded its lowest monthly losses of the year in August, at just $15.1 million due to hacks and fraud. This development represents a significant 38% drop compared to August 2033, when losses of around $24.6 million were recorded, and a staggering 94.5% drop compared to the numbers recorded in July 2024.
Interestingly, all $15.1 million was lost across five hacks, with no fraud incidents reported. Additionally, Ethereum and BNB Chain were the most attacked networks in August, accounting for all of these losses.
Additionally, Immuefi reported that all of the hacks occurred in the DeFi space, but most of the losses were due to one high-profile incident, namely the Ronin Bridge exploitation, which resulted in the loss of $12 million. Although these funds were later returned because the “attack” was organized by white-collar hackers.
However, despite the tiny crypto losses in August, Immunefi reports that total annual losses in the cryptocurrency ecosystem rose to $1.21 billion across 154 incidents, a 15.5% boost compared to losses recorded during the same period in 2023.
This broader trend suggests that the cryptocurrency industry continues to be exposed to significant levels of vulnerability, as cryptocurrency losses in 2024 could likely prove to be higher than the numbers recorded in 2023. This concept highlights the need to strengthen security efforts to protect the integrity of the cryptocurrency industry.
Cryptocurrency Market Overview
According to data from Coingecko, The cryptocurrency market is experiencing a noticeable decline, with the total market capitalization currently valued at $2.18 trillion, reflecting a tiny decline of 0.19% over the past day. This is a significant drop from $2.48 trillion a month ago.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin continues to dominate the market with a market capitalization of $1.17 trillion, accounting for 53.74% of the total market share. However, the cryptocurrency market leader lost over 10% of its value in August. Other major assets saw similar declines; Ethereum fell 21.9%, Binance Coin (BNB) fell 7.3%, and Solana fell 20.0%. Although the stablecoin market gained more popularity during the period, increasing its total market capitalization by 3.69% to $169.85 billion.
Featured image from Simplilearn, chart from Tradingview
