The number of hacks has dropped – is that good news or bad news?

TL;DR

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

• That number – $400 million – is 70% fewer 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 it stays that way.

Full story

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

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

(See – sounds bad).

That number – $400 million – is actually 70% fewer than the same period last year.

(Slightly less bad).

So why the dramatic drop?

The positive view:

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

  The more hacks that have happened in the past –> the more projects know what to expect –> the more secure they become –> the fewer total number of hacks.

The neither-here-nor-there take:

• There were still many attacks on crypto projects, but the magnitude was really bad down.

  For example, the Axie Infinity Ronin bridge hack last March was worth $650 million alone – so maybe there are just fewer, big hacks out there.

The negative view:

• Maybe, just maybe, the number of attacks has decreased because people don’t care anymore.

  Developers have moved to AI, as have venture capital firm funds.

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

Anyway, less $$ stolen is good, and we hope this continues.