Chainalysis estimates the damage from hacking of cross-chain protocols since the beginning of the year at $2 billion

Since the beginning of the year, the amount of stolen funds as a result of 13 attacks on cross-chain protocols has reached $2 billion, according to Chainalysis analysts.

The share of attacks on bridges amounted to 69% of all funds stolen by attackers in 2022.

The last such episode was the August 2 hack of the Nomad protocol in the Evmos ecosystem.

“As the value transferred through cross-chain protocols increases, so does their appeal to hackers. This poses a serious threat to building trust in blockchain technology.”, the experts said.

Analysts noted that they are participating in thisand North Korean-related groups. As a result, they managed to gain control of assets worth $1 billion, including as a result of attacks on bridges.

Experts stressed that the designcross-chain protocols is still an unresolved technical problem. In their opinion, only an extremely strict code audit can become its solution. This will eventually create a library of reliable and secure smart contracts that will become templates for other developers.

Chainalysis previously launched a hotline for victims of cryptocurrency crimes. 

Recall that in June, the Horizon cross-chain protocol associated with the Harmony blockchain was hacked. The damage amounted to about $100 million.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin previously said he was “pessimistic” about bridges. In his opinion, the latter are vulnerable to 51% attacks.

Read more about what cross-chain bridges are in ForkLog educational cards.

Read ForkLog's bitcoin news on our Telegram — cryptocurrency news, rates, and analytics.