December’s Crypto Losses Fell Sharply — But the Risks Didn’t Disappear
This is one of those stats that looks encouraging at first glance, but still deserves caution.
According to PeckShield, major crypto security incidents in December caused around $76 million in losses, a 60%+ drop compared to November’s $194 million. On the surface, that’s a meaningful improvement and suggests fewer large-scale blowups toward year-end.
But when I look closer, the nature of the attacks hasn’t really changed.
The two biggest incidents this month were still painfully basic:
$50M lost due to address poisoning
$27.3M lost from private key leakage in a multisig wallet
Beyond that, projects like babur.sol ($22M), TrustWallet ($8.5M), and others still suffered significant hits. So while the total number is lower, the attack vectors remain the same — social engineering, key management failures, and operational mistakes.
To me, this doesn’t signal that crypto is suddenly safer. It signals that liquidity was lower and attackers picked their spots more carefully. Fewer incidents doesn’t always mean better security — sometimes it just means fewer opportunities.
The takeaway is simple:
Security risk isn’t cyclical like price. It’s constant. And even in quieter months, basic mistakes still cost tens of millions.
Less damage this time — but the lesson hasn’t changed.
#CRYTO