$2bn was lost to crypto crimes in H1 2024 but investor popularity surged

In H1 2024, the crypto market lost $2 billion on the back of crimes like hacking and phishing. However, crypto investments have grown despite the risks.

Reports find that cryptocurrency users have grown due to the market appeal of top assets and the introduction of new investment vehicles like Bitcoin ETFs. At the same time, Bitcoin millionaires have also reportedly seen the highest growth this year.

Crypto crimes cost investors $2bn

In the first half of 2024, around $2 billion was lost to crypto crimes, as per a recent report. Hacks, majorly with private key exploits, led to a loss of half of this loot. Scams accounted for $524 million, and phishing attacks accounted for $409 million of the losses.

Recoveries were close to $188 million. Despite major losses and hacks, phishing, and scam projects being top threats, crypto popularity has not taken a hit. In 2024, it is estimated that global crypto ownership is at an average of 6.8%.

This year, estimates find that there are 833.7 million cryptocurrency investors. Notably, from 2023 to 2024, the number of users jumped by 24.34%, going from 670.5 million to 833.7 million. This number could reportedly grow to about 992.5 million by 2028 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.46%. 

As per Chainalysis, the year-on-year growth rate until June 2024 has been the fastest in Sub-Saharan Africa, followed by Latin America, Eastern and Western Europe, Eastern Asia, North America, Central and South Asia and Oceania (CSAO), and MENA.

Bitcoin and stablecoins see major growth

The increase in users is not only driven by market interest but also new investment avenues. A report by Security found that 21% of non-owners said that Bitcoin ETF makes them more likely to invest in crypto.

Andrew Amoils, Head of Research at New World Wealth, noted that crypto millionaires saw the most growth over the past year, and it was mostly driven by Bitcoin. He underlined that five out of six new crypto billionaires were created by Bitcoin investments, adding to its strong long-term appeal.

Crypto Wealth Report 2024, published by Henley & Partners, finds that as of August 2024, there were 85,400 Bitcoin millionaires, a 111% increase from 2023.

Notably, Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $73K in March 2024, with ETFs being a catalyst. On the back of Bitcoin, the total market value of crypto increased by 89% to $2.3 trillion, from $1.2 trillion last year. However, the market volatility this year has also fueled the use of stablecoins.

The substantial growth in this sector is led by Tether, which has the highest market cap. USDT, USDC, and DAI make up over 90% of the stablecoin market cap.

Roshan Dharia, CEO of crypto exchange Paxful, told Cryptopolitan, “We’re long-term believers in the economic value and utility of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins such as USDT and USDC. These are the very few assets with tried and true reliability, security, and worldwide adoption,”

2024 has been a good year for the crypto market in terms of price growth and adoption. The major losses on the back of crypto crime can also be seen as a consequence of the two market drivers. However, the crypto expansion signifies that the risks are not slowing down the investments in the asset class.