--- title: "Wildly Overconfident Crypto.com Bros Admit That Hackers Stole $30 Million of Its Money" description: "At this point, you really gotta wonder whether investing in cryptocurrencies is even worth it. " date: "2022-01-20" modified: "2022-01-20" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/crypto-com-hack" categories: - "Cybersecurity" - "Future Society" - "Hacking" tags: - "blockchain" - "crypto" - "the digest" --- # Wildly Overconfident Crypto.com Bros Admit That Hackers Stole $30 Million of Its Money ![At this point, you really gotta wonder whether investing in cryptocurrencies is even worth it. ]() *\Image: Getty Images\* At this point, you really gotta wonder whether investing in cryptocurrencies is even worth it. This feels like one of the more obvious takeaways after the latest high profile crypto exchange hack, this time at Crypto.com, which just [admitted overnight]() that it lost the equivalent of about $30 million in Bitcoin and Ether. It also says users have already been reimbursed for any losses. Until very recently, it seemed like crypto really had a fighting chance of legitimately competing with, if not outright replacing, fiat currency. That optimism now feels like a fever dream, with new [hacks dropping like flies]() and countless [investors getting ripped off]() for doing little more than [being in the wrong place at the wrong time](). In 2021, [*CNBC* reports](), crypto crime losses were up 79 percent and hackers stole a record-breaking total of $14 billion last year alone. According to the analytics firm Chainalysis, a significant factor driving all that grift is the rise of decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, which grew an exponential 912 percent in 2021. Crypto.com, of course, is a DeFi platform — one so ridiculously hyped up that it [bought the rights]() to rename Los Angeles' famed Staples Center to "The Crypto.com Arena" and paid [Matt freakin' Damon]() to film a splashy advertisement. In rushing to replicate traditional banking as a means of legitimizing — and capitalizing upon — crypto the developers of these platforms have left their code open to hackers. And users who are more interested in the hype and promise of huge gains don't much seem to care, Chainalysis noted in its annual crypto crime report. Indeed, 21 percent of last year's hacks exploited these backdoors, a spokesperson for the firm told *CNBC*. Basically, the goal of DeFi is to replicate brokerages and securities exchanges — except that sloppy security on platforms that embrace it have enabled [hack after hack]() that drain investors' money straight from the source. The Crypto.com hack, which isn't even the biggest in recent months, won't convince DeFi hype-believers to divest from these insecure platforms. But at some point, these platforms are going to have to get their act together or risk the tide turning against them for good. *Updated to reflect that Crypto.com says it will cover users' losses.* **READ MORE:** [Crypto.com admits over $30 million stolen by hackers]() \[*The Verge*\] **More hacks:** [*Hacker Steals $600 Million in Crypto, Gets Scared and Returns It*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()