Economy
Crypto Exchanges Lose $12.36bn to Hackers in 12 Years
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crypto companies and exchanges lost about $12.36 billion in 1,207 related hacks in the last 12 years, a new study seen by Business Post shows.
According to research carried out by The Money Mongers Team on the largest crypto hacks and thefts since the beginning of the crypto market, it was found that from 2011 to 2023, there was a 1,053 per cent jump in the amount stolen, from $1.79 million to $1.89 billion.
This year so far, $1.89 billion has been lost in 298 crypto hack attacks, showing that $216,000 is lost every hour.
The report showed that in 2022, crypto hacks reached an all-time high of $3.5 billion stolen in 284 heist incidents.
Since 2011, when crypto went mainstream, about 193 crypto exchanges have been hacked and lost $3.80 billion in total. The worst for crypto exchanges was in 2018 as they collectively lost $1.1 billion to hacking and theft incidents.
There is also a significant rise in decentralized finance (DeFi) hacks with the number standing at 93 and 76 for 2022 and 2023, respectively, leading to a collective loss of $1.12 billion.
There has been a total loss of 1,454,762 Bitcoin (BTC) while the second most valued coin, Ethereum (ETH) since 2011, has seen 1,175,082 ETH lost to different hacks. Using the current market valuation, the numbers will stand at $40.27 billion and $1.93 billion, respectively.
It was also discovered that contract vulnerability and flash loan attacks are two common hacks, leading to a cumulative loss of $2.75 billion since 2011.
The biggest hack occurred on March 29, 2022, when Ronin Network, a gaming-focused blockchain network, disclosed a loss of about $625 million. The platform was hacked for 173,600 ETH and 25,500,000 USDC. It was reported that hackers managed to get access to private keys to validator nodes, resulting in a compromise of 5 validator notes that are required for approving a transaction.
Another is a major attack on Poly Network on August 10, 2021, resulting in a loss of $610 million. As per the findings, the attacker exploited a vulnerability in Poly Networ’s code that allowed the attacker to transfer funds to their accounts. However, unlike many other hacks, the hacker returned all of the money after some dramatic incidents. Later, the platform promised a grant of $500,000 bounty for finding a flaw in the system along with a job offer.
On October 6, 2022, Binance Smart Chain became the victim of another hack attack that resulted in a loss of 2,000,000 BNB worth $566 million at that time. As per the findings, the hacker exploited a vulnerability in the underlying code and managed to get $566 million to accounts on their chains.
The report also found that other attacks occurred on Coincheck ($543 million), Mt Gox ($473 million), FTX ($415 million), Wormhole ($326 million), KuCoin ($281 million), Gate.io ($234 million), and Euler Finance ($197 million).
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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Conclusion
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
