Crypto heist: top 5 blockchain thefts of all time

Around $620 million were stolen by the hackers in one of the biggest crypto theft in the world from Ronin, a blockchain network connected to the popular Axie Infinity online game.

The Ronin hack comes after more than $300 million worth of cryptos were lost in the February attack on the Wormhole bridge.

Like any system, cryptocurrency platforms and exchange mechanisms are vulnerable to cyberattacks. As per a report, a 51% or majority attack is where an attacker gains control of more than 50% of the hashing power of a blockchain. Once a hacker has that level of control over the blockchain, they can perform double-spends and reverse transactions.

Editorji lists down top 5 crypto heists of all time:

1. Ronin | $625 million: The makers of one of the most popular blockchain-based online games, Axie Infinity, said Tuesday that hackers were able to steal assets worth about $625 million from the gaming company and its players.

Also read/watch | Big crypto heist: $600 million stolen by hackers from online game

2. Poly Network | $611 million: Poly Network is a platform in the decentralized finance or 'DeFi' space and was hit by a major attack in August 2021. Hackers stole more than $600 million worth of digital tokens. However, the hacker didn’t runoff. Instead, they opened a dialogue with the organization that was targeted and gave back nearly all of the money.

3. Coincheck | $532 million: In 2018, the Coincheck crypto-exchange hack was the world’s largest crypto heist to date. The hack was eventually identified as having started with malware-infected laptops of Coincheck employees; the infection was attributed to Russian hacking gangs. The infection is most likely to have been instigated via a phishing email.

4. Mt Gox | $470 million: Back in 2014, the Japanese crypto-exchange, Mt Gox was the most successful exchange, handling over 70% of all crypto transactions. In early 2014, the exchange was the victim of a crypto heist that stole over $470 million worth of bitcoins.

5. Wormhole Bridge | $325 million: One of the most popular bridges which links the Ethereum and Solana blockchains, was hacked in February. The attack swiped $320 million or 120,000 Ethereum.