A Comprehensive Timeline of all DeFi Hacks/Exploits/Rugpulls in 2021 (constantly updated)
TL;DR: go to this Google Doc (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LbX6uCAKsrvzHuAe2MegOQpcDk1B_Ank71kcPtjz2h4/edit?usp=sharing) that details all DeFi hacks/exploits/rugpulls in 2021, and read up on them to learn from their mistakes!
State of the Industry (DeFi)
We are only 8 months into 2021, yet it already feels like an eternity. The same can be said of the DeFi ecosystem, as already close to $1b worth of USD has already been lost to hacks/exploits/rugpulls in 2021 alone.
To put this into perspective — in the whole of 2020, $129m USD was lost to hacks/exploits/rugpulls. 2021 has not ended yet by any means, and we are already at a whopping $1b USD lost to hacks/exploits/rugpulls this year. That is almost a 9/10x increase!
Here is a chart by CipherTrace detailing the huge increase in DeFi hacks/exploits/rugpulls this year (take note that this chart was generated before the recent PolyNetwork exploit [$600m], so the increase is actually much bigger)
Where to go from here
Fincade strongly believes in learning from history so as not to repeat mistakes of the past.
There is a dire need for all of us (who are involved in the DeFi space in one way or another) to carefully go through every project that got hacked/exploited/rugpulled, in order to learn from their mistakes.
Beyond the painful loss of money, there is much to glean from these unfortunate events. It is how we consolidate as a community, then move on stronger from them, that will define the DeFi space for years and decades to come. In other words, the DeFi space really needs a period of reflection right now.
Fincade has meticulously generated a list (on Google Docs) of all the projects that got hacked/exploited/rugpulled in 2021 (Jan — Aug), in chronological order.
On top of this timeline, we have also curated a list of useful resources and readings that you can tap on if you want to delve further into any of these hacks/exploits/rugpulls. We hope that this will help you in your reflection process.
Here is the link to the Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LbX6uCAKsrvzHuAe2MegOQpcDk1B_Ank71kcPtjz2h4/edit?usp=sharing
In subsequent articles, Fincade will take a closer look at a few of the more major hacks/exploits/rugpulls detailed below. We will also discuss some salient learning points from said events, so do keep a lookout for them!
