Bug bounty platform Immunefi has revealed shocking data about BNB Chain. Since its launch in September 2020, the blockchain has lost nearly $1.7 billion in crypto assets.
Immunefi's research shows hundreds of fraud and security incidents on BNB Chain. The total loss stands at a whopping $1.64 billion. Hacks account for $1.27 billion across 168 incidents. Fraud makes up the remaining $368 million over 228 incidents.
Four major incidents contributed to most of the losses. We are talking about attacks on BNB Chain itself, Venus Protocol, Qubit Finance, and Uranium Finance.
The platform has become a hotbed for rug pulls, some experts say, and it is hard to accuse them in exaggeration. It has over twice as much fraud as Ethereum, the leading smart contract platform. "Despite efforts to maintain security, a surprising number of users attempt fraudulent activities in the form of rug pulls on the network," Immunefi notes.
BNB Chain took its biggest hits in 2021 and 2022. Yes, those were the truly dark ages. Bad actors drained $911 million from the protocol during this period. Things improved slightly in 2023, with losses dropping to $165 million.
However, rug pulls continue to plague the project. They accounted for 44% of total losses on BNB Chain in 2023. In comparison, Ethereum's rug pull losses were just 1.7% in the same year.
For those not in the know, rug pulls are a nasty piece of work. Scammers create a fake project to lure in investors. Then they pull the rug out, draining as much money as possible. Though this technology is not new, and there a massive warnings about it all over the crypto world, hundreds and even thousands of rookie investors keep falling for it every year.
The crypto world is a wild ride, and BNB Chain's story is no exception. Despite its troubles, the native token BNB is holding steady. It's trading at $532, up 1.68% in the last 24 hours.