NFTs worth more than $100M stolen in the last year, says research firm Elliptic
According to the blockchain research firm Elliptic, more than $100 million worth of NFTs were stolen in the 12 months leading up to July 2022.
A report from blockchain research firm says that NFT thefts continue to grow, with July seeing the largest number of thefts recorded. Elliptic says over $100 million worth of NFTs have been stolen in the 12 months leading up to July 2022.
The report, accessed by Reuters, says social media hacks and scams constitute the largest source of these thefts. Over 23% of all NFT losses in 2022 can be led to social media security compromises. On an average, a scammer received NFTs worth $300,000 on each theft in the last 12 months.
The Elliptic report also discusses the threat of money laundering in untraceable NFT transactions. While it places the amount of money laundering on NFT platforms at just $8 million, Elliptic also points out the danger of so-called 'cryptocurrency mixers'.
These services are designed to hide the origin of funds behind the purchase of NFTs and cumulatively spent around $329 million in the NFT market. One such mixer, Tornado Cash, was reportedly behind half of the money laundering transactions in the market before being discovered by the US authorities earlier this year.
YourStory was unable to verify these claims independently.
The report also says that the real number of NFT thefts that occurred over the last year was probably higher since many were not reported.
Edited by Swetha Kannan
