The year 2022 was a defining one for the cryptocurrency industry, with major regulatory advancements such as the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA) regulation and bipartisan legislative proposals in the United States. However, alongside its mainstream adoption, crypto also faced a surge in cyber threats.
Elliptic research revealed that a staggering $3.3 billion was stolen in crypto-related exploits in 2022, marking a sharp increase from $2 billion in the previous year. A significant portion of these attacks targeted Decentralized Finance (DeFi) platforms, cross-chain bridges, and exchanges, which hackers leveraged to launder illicit funds across multiple blockchains.
Here’s a look at the most notorious crypto hacks of 2022, ranked by the amount stolen.
1. BSC Token Hub ($569 Million Stolen)
In October 2022, Binance suffered a major exploit on its Binance Smart Chain (BSC) platform, resulting in the unauthorized minting of $569 million in BNB tokens. The attack stemmed from a verification proof vulnerability in the Binance Bridge (BSC Token Hub), allowing the hacker to forge proof for a block confirmed two years earlier.
The stolen assets were swiftly moved across multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Polygon, Fantom, and Avalanche, making recovery efforts challenging. This hack reinforced concerns over bridge security—a recurring weak point in the DeFi ecosystem.
2. Ronin Network ($540 Million Stolen)
The Ronin Network hack in March 2022 remains one of the largest in crypto history, with attackers siphoning 173,600 ETH and 25.5 million USDC, valued at $540 million at the time.
The breach was executed through a socially engineered attack targeting Ronin’s validator nodes. By obtaining private keys from five out of nine validators, the hacker gained control of the bridge’s funds.
In April 2022, the U.S. Treasury identified North Korea’s Lazarus Group as the perpetrator and imposed sanctions on the thief’s Ethereum address.
3. FTX Collapse and Hack ($477 Million Stolen)
FTX’s downfall in November 2022 was already one of the biggest financial scandals of the year. But just 24 hours after filing for bankruptcy, FTX wallets were drained of $477 million in cryptoassets through what was believed to be unauthorized transfers.
The stolen tokens were quickly swapped for ETH via decentralized exchanges (DEXs) to prevent issuers from freezing them. Over $100 million in USDT and Paxos Gold (PAXG) was frozen, but the majority of stolen assets were later converted to RenBTC and bridged to Bitcoin through RenBridge—a tool frequently used for laundering illicit funds.
4. Wormhole Portal Exploit ($325 Million Stolen)
In February 2022, the Wormhole Portal—a DeFi bridge connecting Solana and other blockchains—fell victim to an exploit that led to the theft of 120,000 ETH, worth $325 million at the time.
The attacker was able to mint Wrapped ETH (wETH) without providing collateral. The vast majority of the stolen ETH was later moved to Ethereum. Remarkably, Jump Crypto, Wormhole’s parent company, reimbursed all losses, ensuring users were not impacted.
5. Wintermute ($162 Million Stolen)
DeFi market maker Wintermute suffered a $162 million breach in September 2022, due to a compromised private key.
Blockchain security firm CertiK speculated that the attack resulted from a vulnerability in Profanity, a vanity address generator. This flaw allowed hackers to brute-force private keys, leading to the theft.
6. Nomad Bridge ($156 Million Stolen)
In August 2022, the Nomad cross-chain bridge was drained of $156.4 million in what became a mass community-led heist.
A code error allowed anyone to spoof transactions, resulting in over 40 attackers exploiting the vulnerability to drain nearly all of the bridge’s funds.
The chaotic nature of the exploit, where users rushed to copy the original attacker’s method, made it one of the most unusual hacks of 2022.
7. Mango Markets Manipulation ($118 Million Stolen)
In October 2022, the Solana-based trading platform Mango Markets lost $118 million due to price manipulation.
The attacker used two accounts to inflate MNGO token prices artificially, then took out massive loans against the inflated asset. This led to an abrupt collapse, with Mango Markets being unable to cover the sudden withdrawal.
8. Horizon Bridge ($100 Million Stolen)
In June 2022, Harmony’s Horizon Bridge was breached, leading to $100 million in stolen assets, including ETH, BNB, USDT, USDC, and DAI.
The hacker quickly swapped the stolen assets for 85,837 ETH via Uniswap and then funneled them through Tornado Cash to obscure their trail.
Elliptic analysts later traced the funds back to Lazarus Group, reinforcing North Korea’s growing involvement in crypto theft.
9. Beanstalk Farms Attack ($76 Million Stolen)
In April 2022, Beanstalk Farms, a DeFi-based Ethereum stablecoin protocol, was targeted in an elaborate governance exploit.
The attacker proposed two fake donation proposals disguised as aid for Ukraine. They then used a flash loan to gain 67% of the voting power and approved their own fraudulent proposal, siphoning $76 million in BEAN tokens and ETH.
Notably, $250,000 of the stolen funds were donated to Ukraine’s Crypto Fund, making it one of the more unusual crypto heists of the year.
Crypto’s Growing Security Crisis
The explosion of DeFi in 2022 opened new doors for hackers and state-sponsored groups like Lazarus. Cross-chain bridges, while revolutionary, have proven to be one of the weakest security points in the crypto ecosystem.
To counter these rising threats, blockchain security firms like Elliptic and PeckShield are continuously refining transaction screening and monitoring tools.
As regulatory scrutiny intensifies and crypto platforms reinforce security measures, 2023 will be a defining year in the battle against crypto-related cybercrime.
For an in-depth analysis of crypto security trends and financial crime prevention, check out Elliptic’s State of Cross-chain Crime Report.
