Why 56.5% of 2024 crypto attacks were off-chain, not smart-contract bugs

Crypto security incidents are often labeled “DeFi hacks” even when the underlying failure has little to do with smart-contract code. Several common breakdowns—stolen private keys, compromised signers, poisoned frontends, or governance abuse—can all end with funds moving on-chain, but they start in different places. In 2024, off-chain incidents made up 56.5% of attacks and 80.5% of stolen funds, according to Halborn. The piece argues that misnaming the failure can push the industry toward the wrong fix.