The second quarter of 2024 witnessed a significant surge in the number of unique active crypto wallets, surpassing 10 million. However, this growth is accompanied by escalating security concerns, with over $1.1 billion lost to cybersecurity incidents in the period.
Surge in Crypto Wallets and Security Concerns in Q2 2024
The number of unique active crypto wallets surpassed 10 million from April to June 2024, marking a 40 percent increase from the previous quarter, as per a report by DappRadar, an NFT marketplace. This surge is primarily attributed to the trend of crypto airdrops, where users create wallets to collect free promotional tokens.
Despite the increase, DappRadar cautioned that this trend might not be sustainable in the short term due to instances of scam giveaways. Additionally, interest in decentralized apps (dApps) related to social media and networking grew by 66 percent during this period, with 1.9 million unique active wallets connected to social dApps.
Conversely, the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector saw a 4 percent decline in growth, with the total value locked (TVL) dropping from $175 billion to $168 billion. Blockchain gaming also experienced a 2 percent decline in its share within the dApps category.
Web3 security concerns have escalated, with over $1.1 billion lost to cybersecurity incidents in the first half of 2024. Certik’s data indicates that phishing was the most prevalent threat, causing $497.7 million in losses. Private key compromises, code vulnerabilities, and exit scams also contributed significantly to financial losses.
Ethereum was the most targeted blockchain, suffering 222 incidents with $315 million in losses. Bitcoin experienced one major incident resulting in $304 million in losses. The increase in losses is attributed to the expanding reach of DeFi platforms and the relaxation of crypto trading restrictions in markets such as Hong Kong and Dubai.
