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Crypto funds stolen last year dropped 54.3% to US$1.7 billion, after a record-setting year in 2022, when US$3.7 billion were lost to hacks and theft, Chainalysis<\/a> reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n The New York-based blockchain intelligence firm attributed the decrease in annual crypto theft to a drop in decentralized finance (DeFi) hacks. In 2022, cybercriminals stole more than US$3.1 billion from DeFi platforms and applications but looted just US$1.1 billion last year, a 63.7% yearly drop.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been a worrying trend in the escalation of both the frequency and severity of attacks within the DeFi ecosystem,\u201d Mar Gimenez-Aguilar, lead security architect at Web3 security firm Halborn said. \u201cIn our comprehensive analysis of the top 50 DeFi hacks, we observed that EVM-based chains and Solana are among the most targeted chains, largely due to their popularity and capability to execute smart contracts.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the drop in the value of stolen crypto, the frequency grew from 219 instances in 2022 to 231 in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n North Korea-affiliated cybercriminal groups such as Kimusky and Lazarus Group were responsible for at least 20 hacks in 2023, the most amount of annual crypto hacks for the Hermit Kingdom.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chainalysis estimates North Korean hackers stole just over US$1 billion in 2023, also a drop in total value when compared to the US$1.7 billion recorded in 2022.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n