Crypto Scams and Hacks Surge to $370M in January: CertiK

TheNewsCrypto2026-02-02 tarihinde yayınlandı2026-02-02 tarihinde güncellendi

Özet

In January, cryptocurrency scams and hacks surged to $370.3 million, marking the highest monthly loss in 11 months and a fourfold increase from January of the previous year. The majority of the stolen funds came from a single social engineering scam that resulted in a $284 million loss. Phishing attacks accounted for over $311.3 million of the total. The month's largest incidents included a $28.9 million hack on Step Finance, a $26.4 million exploit of the Truebit protocol due to a smart contract bug, and a $13.3 million attack on SwapNet. Overall, 16 major hacks were recorded, causing $86.01 million in losses—a slight decrease from the previous year but a 13% rise from December. The figures represent a 214% increase from December's losses and highlight a significant escalation in crypto security breaches.

The total value of stolen cryptocurrencies via exploits and scams extended to $370.3 million last month, the biggest monthly figure hit in 11 months and around a fourfold increase from January of last year.

CertiK, the biggest Web3 security service provider, stated on January 31 that out of 40 scam incidents that happened in January, the major portion of the total value stolen came from one victim that lost about $284 million because of a social engineering scam.

Around over $370 million stolen was accounted for by phishing scams, which stole over $311.3 million over the month. This month’s figure is the biggest loss, followed by the Bybit hack in February 2025.

In February 2025, the hackers swept off around $1.5 billion overall over the month, a major portion of which came from the $1.4 billion hack on crypto exchange Bybit. The recent amount marks over a 277% surge from January 2025, when attackers swept in and stole $98 million.

The Biggest Surge

CertiK also mentioned that it is also a 214% surge from December, witnessing $117.8 million lost to crypto theft. The blockchain security and data analytics company, PeckShield, revealed on February 1 that the hack of Step Finance in the last month of January was the biggest for the month.

Attackers swept $28.9 million in the attack on the decentralised finance portfolio tracker, where a lot of its treasury wallets were risked, having over 261,000 Solana (SOL) taken. After this, the biggest exploit for the month was the $26.4 million attack on the Truebit protocol on January 8, when a bug in a smart contract permitted an attacker to mint tokens almost for free. This also banged the price of the Truebit (TRU) token.

PeckShield also highlighted the $13.3 million hack on liquidity provider SwapNet on January 26 and the $7 million hack against the blockchain protocol Saga on January 21. The firm mentioned that there were around 16 hacks overall in January, equating to $86.01 million in losses, a 1.42% fall from a year ago, but over a 13% rise from December.

Highlighted Crypto News Today:

CrossCurve Bridge Exploit Exposes $3 Million Loss in Cross-Chain Security Breach

TagsCertiKHackScam

İlgili Sorular

QWhat was the total value of stolen cryptocurrencies in January according to CertiK?

A$370.3 million

QWhich single incident accounted for the majority of the stolen funds in January?

AA social engineering scam that resulted in a loss of about $284 million to one victim.

QWhat was the most significant hack prior to January's surge, as mentioned in the article?

AThe Bybit hack in February 2025, where approximately $1.4 billion was stolen.

QAccording to PeckShield, which was the largest individual hack incident in January?

AThe $28.9 million hack of Step Finance.

QWhat type of attack was responsible for the majority of the stolen funds in January?

APhishing scams, which stole over $311.3 million.

İlgili Okumalar

Sygnum's B2B Bank Model Fuels Cryptocurrency Boom in Switzerland

Swiss digital asset bank Sygnum's B2B model is enabling a cryptocurrency boom in Switzerland by providing integrated infrastructure to traditional banks. Its partnership with Bancastato, a regional bank, allows clients to seamlessly trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Solana directly within their existing bank apps. This eliminates the friction of using separate platforms. Under this model, Sygnum handles the backend trading infrastructure, custody, compliance, and regulatory licenses, while partner banks maintain their customer relationships and branding. This "infrastructure-as-a-service" approach allows banks to offer crypto services faster and more safely than building them in-house. Over 25 Swiss financial institutions, including Zuger Kantonalbank and PostFinance, now use Sygnum's B2B platform, making regulated digital asset services accessible to over a third of Switzerland's population. The trend reflects a shift where Swiss banks view crypto as another mainstream asset class rather than a niche product. Sygnum, a licensed bank itself with operations in Zurich, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi, leverages Switzerland's mature regulatory framework, which has integrated crypto into existing banking supervision. This environment, along with the concentration of blockchain firms in "Crypto Valley," is helping mainstream cryptocurrency adoption in the country, with an estimated 18-23% of Swiss residents already owning crypto assets.

cryptonews.ru6 dk önce

Sygnum's B2B Bank Model Fuels Cryptocurrency Boom in Switzerland

cryptonews.ru6 dk önce

US Department of Justice Files Lawsuit to Recover $47,000 in Cryptocurrency in ATM Fraud Case

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking $47,461.73111 in USDT (Tether). Prosecutors allege the cryptocurrency was obtained through a fraud scheme where scammers tricked victims, including a Massachusetts woman, into withdrawing cash from their bank accounts and depositing it into crypto ATMs. In this case, the victim followed instructions after seeing a fake tech support pop-up, depositing funds into a Bitcoin Depot ATM. Authorities later traced a portion of the funds to a specific wallet, seized the assets, and linked the address to other victims. This action is part of a broader crackdown on crypto ATM fraud. In response to such scams, which the FBI reports cost Americans over $333 million in 2025, a bipartisan "Stop Crypto ATM Scams Act" has been introduced in Congress. The proposed bill would impose daily and initial deposit limits, mandate fraud warnings, and strengthen anti-money laundering requirements for operators. Regulatory bodies like FinCEN have also increased scrutiny of crypto kiosks. The Massachusetts case follows other recent forfeiture actions, including one targeting approximately $3.4 million in crypto linked to an investment scam and another for about $327,829 connected to a romance fraud scheme. Civil forfeiture allows the government to seize assets and, if successful, potentially return them to identified victims.

cryptonews.ru9 dk önce

US Department of Justice Files Lawsuit to Recover $47,000 in Cryptocurrency in ATM Fraud Case

cryptonews.ru9 dk önce

İşlemler

Spot
活动图片