Scams cost crypto investors millions in April 2023: Report

• Crypto projects and investors lost $103 million to scams, hacks and exploits during April 2023.
• At over $74 million, exploits cost investors the most over the past month, followed by flash loan attacks.

On 30 April, CertiK shared the details of the crypto hacks and exploits that occurred over the past month via Twitter. The combined loss to investors from all the exploits, hacks, scams and rug pulls was reportedly more than $103 million.

Crypto projects and investors have lost over a hundred million dollars to the dozens of hacks, scams, and exploits that occurred in the crypto space during April 2023. As per the data gathered by CertiK, the first four months of the year saw crypto investors lose more than $429 million. 

52 crypto exploits occurred in April

Crypto investors and projects essentially lost $3.4 million everyday throughout April. The loss was broken down into three categories, namely flash loan attacks, exit scams, and exploits. 

Crypto exploits were the leading cause of loss to investors. Maximum extractable value (MEV) bots took the lead in this category, costing investors more than $25 million over the past month. MEV bots are algorithms that are designed to frontrun the transactions initiated by blockchain users.

The $22 million hot wallet exploit at crypto exchange Bitrue was the next major contributor, followed by the hacking of South Korea’s GDAC exchange, where hackers made away with $13 million. The loss caused by exploits in April was more than the total loss over the first three months of 2023. 

Flash Loan Attacks were the next biggest contributor to the $103 million loss faced by crypto investors last month. The $10 million flash loan attack on Yearn Finance was the largest of them all. The attack on Hundred Finance, which led to a loss of almost $7.5 million, followed this. Meanwhile, exit scams like the one carried out by Merlin DEX ($2.7 million) cost investors $9.4 million in April.