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).
Economy
NASD OTC Securities Exchange Closes Flat
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Thursday, December 12 after it ended the trading session with no single price gainer or loser.
As a result, the market capitalisation remained unchanged at N1.055 trillion as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) followed the same route, remaining at 3,012.50 points like the previous trading session.
However, the activity chart witnessed changes as the volume of securities traded at the bourse went down by 92.5 per cent to 447,905 units from the 5.9 million units transacted a day earlier.
In the same vein, the value of securities bought and sold by investors declined by 86.6 per cent to N3.02 million from the N22.5 million recorded in the preceding trading day.
But the number of deals carried out during the session remained unchanged at 21 deals, according to data obtained by Business Post.
When trading activities ended for the day, Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units sold for N3.9 billion, Okitipupa Plc came next with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc was in third place with 297.5 million units worth N5.3 million.
Also, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units worth N89.2 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units sold for N5.3 billion.
Economy
Naira Firms to N1,534/$1 at NAFEM, Crashes to N1,680/$1 at Black Market
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N14.79 or 0.9 per cent to trade at N1,534.50/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,549.29/$1 on Thursday, December 12.
The strengthening of the domestic currency during the trading session was influenced by the introduction of the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The implementation of the forex system comes with diverse implications for all segments of the financial markets that deal with FX, including the rebound in the value of the Naira across markets.
The system instantly reflects data on all FX transactions conducted in the interbank market and approved by the CBN; publication of real-time prices and buy-sell orders data from this system has lent support to the Naira at the official market.
Equally, the local currency improved its value against the British Pound Sterling by N3.91 to wrap the session at N1,954.77/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,958.65/£1 and against the Euro, the Nigerian currency gained N2.25 to sell for N1,610.41/€1 versus N1,612.66/€1.
However, in the black market, the Naira crashed further against the US Dollar on Thursday by N10 to quote at N1,680/$1 compared with Wednesday’s closing rate of N1,670/$1.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market majorly corrected after earlier gains as US President-elect Donald Trump reiterated his ambition to embrace crypto assets, but a bond market rout dragged risk assets lower.
Mr Trump said, “We’re going to do something great with crypto” while ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, reiterating his ambition to embrace digital assets in the world’s largest economy and create a strategic bitcoin reserve.
Alongside, the European Central Bank trimmed its benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points and in its dovish policy statement hinted that more rate cuts were likely to happen.
The biggest loss was made by Cardano (ADA), which fell by 4.9 per cent to trade at $1.10, followed by Ripple (XRP), which slid by 4.1 per cent to $2.33 and Dogecoin (DOGE) recorded a value depreciation of 2.9 per cent to sell at $0.4064.
Further, Solana (SOL) slumped by 1.8 per cent to $225.89, Binance Coin (BNB) slipped by 1.3 per cent to $746.92, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 0.6 per cent to $99,998.18, Ethereum (ETH) crumbled by 0.5 per cent to $3,909.43, and Litecoin (LTC) dipped by 0.3 per cent to $121.52, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
Economy
Oil Market Falls on Expected Increase in Supply Surplus
By Adedapo Adesanya
The oil market slumped on Thursday, pressured by an expected increase in supply, supported by rising expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut.
The International Energy Agency (EIA) made a slight upward revision to its demand outlook for next year but still expected the oil market to be comfortably supplied, with Brent crude futures losing 11 cents or 0.15 per cent to trade at $73.41 per barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declining by 27 cents or 0.38 per cent to finish at $70.02 per barrel.
The IEA in its monthly oil market report increased its 2025 global oil demand growth forecast to 1.1 million barrels per day from 990,000 barrels per day last month, largely in Asian countries due to the impact of China’s recent stimulus measures.
At the same time, the IEA expects nations not in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Allies (OPEC+) group to boost supply by about 1.5 million barrels per day next year, driven by the US, Canada, Guyana, Brazil and Argentina – more than the rate of demand growth.
On Wednesday, OPEC cut its demand growth forecast for 2024 for the fifth straight month.
The IEA said that, even excluding the return to higher output quotas, its current outlook is to a 950,000 barrels per day supply overhang next year, which is almost 1 per cent of the world’s supply.
The Paris-based agency said this would rise to 1.4 million barrels per day if OPEC+ goes ahead with its plan to start unwinding cuts from the end of next March.
Next year’s surplus could make it harder for OPEC+ to bring back production. The hike was earlier due to start in October 2024, but OPEC+ has delayed it amid falling prices.
Meanwhile, inflation rose slightly in November increasing the possibility of a US Federal Reserve rates cut again as the data fed optimism about economic growth and energy demand.
Support also came as crude imports in China grew annually for the first time in seven months in November, up more than 14 per cent from a year earlier.
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