Record low DeFi losses in 2023
According to IntoTheBlock, this year is expected to record the lowest losses due to exploits since 2020. As of now, the losses suffered within the DeFi space stand at slightly over $1 billion.
Throughout the year, the industry witnessed several high-profile hacks, resulting in the loss of millions of dollars. Among the notable incidents were exploits involving SushiSwap (SUSHI), Bonq, and SafeMoon (SFM).
SushiSwap’s April Exploit: On April 9th, SushiSwap fell victim to an exploit that caused a user to lose over $3.3 million. However, the issue was swiftly addressed, and prices returned to normal.
BonqDao’s February Exploit: In February, BonqDao experienced a significant smart contract exploit, leading to an estimated theft of $120 million from its protocol.
SafeMoon’s March Exploit: SafeMoon encountered an exploit in March where the Safemoon token liquidity pool (LP) lost nearly $9 million worth of tokens. Attackers took advantage of a faulty feature in the smart contracts, conducting multiple token exchanges in a single transaction, resulting in the theft of billions of SFM tokens locked in an LP.
DeFi Total Value Locked (TVL) trends
However, starting in October, there has been a noticeable uptrend, and gradual growth has continued since then.
As the DeFi market shows signs of recovery, the industry now faces the challenge of fortifying its defenses against exploits in the upcoming year.
The decrease in losses due to exploits in 2023 is a positive development, indicating a heightened focus on security among DeFi projects and platforms.
Valuable lessons have been learned from past exploits, and ongoing efforts are being made to enhance the security of smart contracts and protocols. The future of DeFi holds promise with continued audits, security upgrades, and greater awareness contributing to a more secure landscape.