London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 01, 2025

Over €9 billion was lost to a boom in crypto crime on DeFi platforms

Over €9 billion was lost to a boom in crypto crime on DeFi platforms

Crime is soaring in the mostly unregulated DeFi sector, according to London-based blockchain analytics firm Elliptic.

Fraud and theft at decentralised finance platforms has totalled $10.5 billion (€9.3 billion) so far this year, newly-published research showed on Thursday, laying bare the risks in the fast-growing but still mostly unregulated area of cryptocurrencies.

It is all due to Decentralised Finance (DeFi) platforms, according to the study.

DeFi is a blockchain-based platform that allows users to lend, borrow and save (usually in cyrptocurrencies), but it can be done without the traditional gatekeepers of finance such as banks.

Instead, it uses smart contracts, which are software programs that allow for agreements on the blockchain. Backers say the technology offers cheaper and more efficient access to financial services.

Cash has poured into DeFi sites this year, mirroring the explosion of interest in cryptocurrencies as a whole. Many investors, facing historically low or sub-zero interest rates, are drawn to DeFi by the promise of high returns on savings.

Yet crime is also booming in the mostly unregulated sector, according to London-based blockchain analytics firm Elliptic. Users have suffered over $12 billion (almost €11 million) in losses through crime at DeFi apps, lending platforms, and exchanges since 2020, with the majority of losses coming in 2021 alone, it found.

Code bugs and design flaws


Bugs in code and design flaws allow criminals to target DeFi sites, Elliptic found, with deep pools of liquidity also allowing criminals to launder proceeds of crime while leaving few traces. Scams are also common, it added.

"Decentralised apps are designed to be trustless in that they eliminate any third-party control of users’ funds," said Elliptic's Tom Robinson.

"But you must still trust that the creators of the protocol have not made a coding or design mistake that could lead to a loss of funds".

Major DeFi platforms say they take a variety measure to bolster security, from hiring external firms to audit code for vulnerabilities to maintaining keys and passwords needed to access user wallets in secure environments.

Cryptocurrency worth some $86 billion (over €76 billion) is currently stored on DeFi platforms, versus $12 billion a year ago, according to sector tracker DeFi Pulse.

Major investors have also bet heavily on the growth of the sector, with Canadian pension fund Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec last month taking part in a $400 million (€354 milion) investment in major lending platform Celsius Network.

DeFi site Poly Network was in August rocked by a $610 million (€540 million) crypto theft, one of the biggest ever - though the hacker later returned nearly all the loot.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
×