The number of stolen cryptocurrencies may reach a historical record by the end of 2022

Improving cybersecurity mechanisms and reducing the number of hacks is a priority for the crypto industry. This was stated by Kim Grauer, research director at Chainalysis, in an interview with Cointelegraph.

According to the research bureau, this year may be ahead of 2021 in terms of the number of cryptocurrencies stolen as a result of hacker attacks. According to the experts, the vast majority of this year’s exploits were targeted at the decentralized finance (DeFi) industry.

«This cannot continue indefinitely in the industry, as people will not want to invest in DeFi platforms,» Grauer emphasized.

Unlike centralized exchanges, which have improved their security immunity to crypto hacks, decentralized protocols have proven to be more vulnerable to exploits. The reason is the open source code they are based on.

«Anyone can analyze this open source code and look for vulnerabilities that can be exploited,» Grauer explained.

However, the researcher does not believe that vulnerability to hacker attacks is an internal problem of DeFi, but rather a consequence of the lack of investment in cybersecurity at the code level. «There are smart contracts that have proven that they can remain secure,» the Chainalysis expert noted. Grauer is convinced that once enough resources are invested in creating the «perfect» code, decentralized protocols can become more secure than their centralized equivalents.

It is worth noting that Chainalysis is working with the new CEO of the bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange, John Ray. The researchers are conducting an examination of corporate control and the veracity of financial information during the period when the exchange was run by Сем Бенкман-Фрід" href="https://noworries.media/biography/sem-benkman-frid/" data-bio-id="3697">Sam Bankman-Fried.