In 2024, while overall illicit activity in the cryptocurrency market dropped by nearly 20%, specific forms of criminal behaviour like hacking and ransomware attacks have surged. Chainalysis reports that the value of stolen cryptocurrency rose by 84% year-to-date, reaching $1.58 billion by the end of July 2024. Interestingly, this increase in theft was primarily driven by rising cryptocurrency prices, with Bitcoin seeing a 130% price increase during this period. Notably, the average value stolen per hack jumped by almost 80%, from $5.9 million in 2023 to $10.6 million in 2024.Hackers have shifted their focus back to centralised exchanges (CEXs) after years of targeting decentralised platforms. The Japanese exchange DMM, for example, lost $305 million in a May 2024 hack, representing 19% of the year’s total stolen funds. Additionally, ransomware attacks have intensified, with a record-breaking $75 million payment to the Dark Angels group in July 2024, marking the largest such payment ever recorded.These developments highlight both the evolving nature of crypto-related crime and the increasing value at risk due to rising asset prices and shifts in criminal tactics​.