$7.6 Million Stolen in Recent Crypto Exploit

Cryptocurrency hacks and scams are on the rise again with tens of millions of dollars being stolen.

Rho Markets, a lending protocol on the Scroll network, has fallen victim to a significant breach, resulting in the theft of over $7.6 million in USDC and USDT. This security incident was traced back to a compromised blockchain oracle, according to Cyvers, a blockchain security firm.

The attack follows a recent major breach of the Indian exchange WazirX, which lost $230 million to hackers earlier this month. This week has proven particularly challenging for the crypto sector, marking the second most profitable week for hackers in 2024.

In addition to the Rho Markets breach, other notable incidents include a July 16 attack on the Li.Fi protocol, which saw over $10 million drained through a smart contract exploit, and phishing attacks targeting users of the Telegram game Hamster Kombat, as reported by Kaspersky.

Over the past 13 years, nearly $19 billion in digital assets have been stolen across 785 hacks, with 2024 potentially surpassing previous years in terms of losses. The first quarter alone saw a 42% increase in stolen funds compared to the same period in 2023.