Crypto worth $2 billion stolen from cross-chain bridges in 2022

According to the latest report, 69% of all crypto theft taken place in 2022 came from cross-chain bridge hacks. The report from Chainalysis, the firm that deals with blockchain analytics stated on Tuesday that 13 token bridge hacks have occurred in 2022 so far.

The latest hack affected the Nomad Bridge, which made $190 million. In the latter half of March, the Attack on Ronin Bridge led to $624 million in Ether and USD Coin being stolen, making Q1 2022 by far the largest quarter for crypto theft since 2021.

To transfer cryptocurrencies between blockchain networks, cross-chain bridges are used. Despite some variations in bridge designs, tokens are typically deposited from one chain to the bridge protocol before they are locked into a contract, according to Chainalysis. Another chain's equivalent token is then issued to the user.


According to the report by Chainalysis', bridges are most often targeted because they are equipped with a central storage point, especially for funds that back the 'bridged' assets that are present on the receiving blockchain. There is still a long way to go in terms of developing effective bridge designs. Some developers also have very little understanding of the working of security protocols, making their protocols vulnerable to exploitation.

It will take at least 1 or 2 years before there is adequate familiarity across chain security models to develop defenses as standards, Nomad founder James Prestwich told Twitter users on 22nd July through a tweet. According to Chainalysis, cyber-attacks on centralized exchanges have declined because of advances that are made in security protocols. Cryptocurrency services, including bridges, should invest sooner rather than later in security upgrades and training, according to the firm that handles blockchain analytics.