Binance has revealed in an announcement that it has recovered $73 million (approximately Rs. 612 crore) stolen by hackers and scammers from the global crypto sector as of July 31, 2024. The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, in a statement shared with Gadgets360, highlighted blockchain technology as a powerful tool in gathering evidence against cybercriminals. Binance stressed that these recovery efforts are aimed at maintaining public trust in the cryptocurrency sector.
Binance’s security team is credited with achieving this milestone. The platform identified and secured funds that were linked to hacks or scams that had infiltrated Binance. The company also claimed to have assisted affected users in recovering their stolen funds.
“Binance’s security team has recovered or otherwise frozen over $73 million (approximately Rs. 612 crore) in user funds from external hacks through July 31 this year, surpassing the approximately $55 million (approximately Rs. 461 crore) secured in 2023,” the exchange said, noting that security efforts have improved over the past year, the exchange said.
According to the exchange, approximately 80 percent of the total recovered funds were stolen through hacks and exploits, while the remaining 20 percent was lost to scams outside of Binance’s ecosystem.
The unique properties of blockchain technology appear to work to its advantage in tracing stolen funds, the exchange said.
“The inherent nature of blockchain, where all transactions are public and traceable, makes it easier to trace and recover funds. This public ledger makes it easier to identify and monitor potentially suspicious activity,” the multinational exchange noted.
The crypto industry, currently worth $2.15 trillion (approximately Rs 1,80,41,649 crore), is facing a rising wave of cyber attacks from criminals targeting the sector.
According to a recent Immuno ReportIn Q2 2024, crypto frauds increased by 91 percent compared to Q2 2023. The crypto sector lost a total of $509 million (approximately Rs. 4,261 crore) to cybercrime between April and June this year.
Hackers are also becoming more sophisticated by the day, attacking crypto protocols one by one. Just last month, the crypto sector was hit by a wave of attacks, financially impacting multiple crypto projects including LiFi, WazirX, dYdX, Fractal ID, and MonoSwap.
Binance Chief Security Officer Jimmy Su warns new crypto users to be extra careful.
“The market growth and volatility observed in recent months often bring an influx of new investors who may be more susceptible to scams and hacks, and higher prices during these periods may result in greater financial losses,” Su noted.
