From theblock by MK Manoylov

The DeltaPrime protocol was exploited for $4.8 million worth of digital assets, adding to a growing number of crypto hacks in 2024, which may surpass the value stolen in 2023.

DeltaPrime, a decentralized finance (DeFi) liquidity protocol, was exploited for $4.8 million worth of Arbitrum ARB$0.6712 and Avalanche AVAX$37.01 tokens.

The hack, still under investigation, began when the exploiter contributed liquidity to the protocol, according to onchain intelligence firm PeckShield. In a Nov. 11 post on X, PeckShield said:

“DeltaPrime has been exploited for ~$4.8M worth of crypto on both #ARB & #AVAX.  The exploiter has added liquidity (~$1.3M) to LFJ (formerly Trader Joe) & farmed $USDC on Stargate.”

In response, the DeltaPrime team announced on Nov. 11 that it had paused the protocol on both the Arbitrum and Avalanche blockchains.

The exploit adds to the growing concerns over security in the crypto industry. On Nov. 1, centralized exchange M2 was hacked for $13.7 million worth of digital assets, Cointelegraph reported.

Related: Telegram bot Banana Gun’s users drained of over $1.9M

Will 2024 crypto hacks top 2023?

In a concerning sign for the Web3 industry, crypto hackers stole over $753 million across 155 incidents during the third quarter of 2024, as the total stolen value surged by about 9.5%.

In 2024 to date, hackers have stolen nearly $2 billion. This means that crypto hacks this year could potentially top 2023, with the first quarter of 2024 seeing $542.7 million worth of stolen funds, a 42% increase compared to the same period in 2023.

Still, smart contracts are no longer to blame for most exploits, according to Mriganka Pattnaik, co-founder and CEO of crypto risk and intelligence platform Merkle Science, who told Cointelegraph:

“While smart contract vulnerabilities remain a concern, hackers increasingly target areas outside smart contracts, like private key leaks. These leaks, often due to phishing attacks or insecure storage practices, have led to significant losses.”

Related: Chinese trader laundered more than $17M for Lazarus Group in 25 hacks

In May, a trader lost $71 million worth of crypto in the year’s most high-profile phishing attack. The attacker tricked the trader into sending 99% of their funds to the attacker’s address.

DeltaPrime’s current incident occurred four months after a hacker stole over $230 million from WazirX, an Indian cryptocurrency exchange, in the second-largest cryptocurrency hack of 2024.