Crypto Hacks: Can Cryptocurrencies Like Bitcoin Be Hacked?

Cryptocurrencies have seen enormous growth over the years. As more users have come on board, the number of hacks have increased. This year crypto hacks cost over $2 billion in stolen funds. These thefts are especially rampant with crypto bridges, resulting in $1.4 billion taken in 2022 alone.

The largest single hacking incident, in March of this year, was the $615 million taken from the Ronin Bridge, which connects the popular game Axie Infinity on the Ronin network to Ethereum. Earlier this year, even the large crypto exchange Crypto.com was hacked for millions, causing the network to pause withdrawals for over 14 hours.

Hacks have caused investors to not only lose their life savings, but also their trust in cryptocurrencies, which results in potential investors backing away from the industry. This article explains how cryptocurrencies are being hacked today, why it’s important to stay vigilant, and some tried-and-true ways to avoid getting hacked.

Are Blockchains Safe?

The blockchain trilemma of having to choose two out of three features (decentralization, security and/or scalability) is fundamental to how blockchains work. To compensate, the architecture behind modern cryptocurrencies, decentralized applications (DApps) and NFTs has significant built-in security features. Once data blocks have been added to the blockchain database, they’re immutable and cannot be reversed or hacked. Despite this structure, hackers have made off with millions every year because of shortfalls in bridge, protocol and personal security. As hackers take advantage of fringe vulnerabilities in the system and abuse existing smart contracts, users can effectively combat this by keeping themselves safe through secure crypto wallets.