Global Blockchain Ecosystem Security Analysis for Q3 2022: Losses Exceed 400 Million USD

In the third quarter of 2022, the global blockchain ecosystem suffered a number of security incidents, resulting in a total loss of about $405.04 million. There were more than 37 major attacks in the quarter, which is down from the previous quarter, but still shows a serious challenge to blockchain security.

Data shows that 92% of the loss amount comes from cross-chain bridges and decentralized finance ( DeFi ) projects. This phenomenon highlights the vulnerability of these two types of projects in terms of security. Among them, the loss amount on the Ethereum network reached 374.28 million dollars, accounting for the vast majority of the total losses.

! 2022 Q3 Global Blockchain Security Report: Total losses of about $405 million, DeFi has become a high-risk area

From the perspective of attack methods, 92% of the loss amount is due to contract vulnerability exploitation and private key leakage. This shows that smart contract security and private key management are still areas that blockchain projects need to focus on.

! 2022 Q3 Global Blockchain Security Report: Total Losses of About $405 Million, DeFi Becomes a High-Incidence Area

Notably, about $204.2 million of the stolen funds flowed into Tornado Cash, a coin-mixing service. This phenomenon reflects the tendency of hackers to use coin mixing services to hide the flow of funds.

! 2022 Q3 Global Blockchain Security Report: Total Losses of About $405 Million, DeFi Becomes a High-Incidence Area

Another worrying statistic is that only 40% of the attacked projects have undergone security audits. This highlights the lack of investment in security audits for blockchain projects and reminds industry players that they need to pay more attention to the security of their projects.

! 2022 Q3 Global Blockchain Security Report: Total Losses of About $405 Million, DeFi Becomes a High-Incidence Area

Overall, the blockchain security landscape in Q3 2022 remains severe. Cross-chain bridges, DeFi projects, and the Ethereum ecosystem are the main targets of the attack. Contract vulnerabilities and private key management issues are the main causes of large losses. In order to improve the overall security of the blockchain ecosystem, the project team needs to strengthen security audits, improve the design of smart contracts, and improve the private key management mechanism. At the same time, the industry also needs to work together to increase the importance of security issues to reduce the risk of security incidents that may occur in the future.

! 2022 Q3 Global Blockchain Security Report: Total losses of about $405 million, DeFi has become a high-risk area