Criminals stole more than $100 million worth of non-fungible tokens (NFT) in the year to July, blockchain research firm Elliptic said on Wednesday, with the digital asset quickly becoming a target for cryptocurrency hackers.
Scams remain rife in the NFT market even as the industry declines, with July recording the highest number of stolen NFTs, Elliptic said in a report. Security compromises on social media have soared, accounting for 23% of NFT thefts in 2022, he said.
Thieves received an average of $300,000 per scam. NFT thefts could likely be even bigger, as not all crimes are publicly reported, the company said.
Elliptic found the amount of money laundering on NFT-based platforms at $8 million. But nearly $329 million in funds on the NFT market came from services like so-called cryptocurrency mixers, designed to hide the origin of the funds, the company said.
“There is a growing threat to NFT-based services from government-sanctioned entities,” Elliptic said, citing a $540 million theft in April that US officials linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
Source: CNN Brasil
I am Sophia william, author of World Stock Market. I have a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and I have worked as a reporter for several news websites. I have a passion for writing and informing people about the latest news and events happening in the world. I strive to be accurate and unbiased in my reporting, and I hope to provide readers with valuable information that they can use to make informed decisions.
