The nearly $150bn “decentralised finance” sector of cryptocurrency markets faces serious security vulnerabilities that put it at risk of hacking and theft, according to the head of the world’s biggest crypto tracing company. Jonathan Levin, chief executive of Chainalysis, told the Financial Times that the rapid growth of so-called DeFi platforms, which operate on blockchains and without intermediaries such as banks, had left their users’ assets at risk of attack. “When you’re building a protocol in your mum’s basement, you don’t have a [chief security officer] from GCHQ [the UK intelligence and security organisation], for example,” he said. “Everyone in onchain finance is just focused on [increasing value in the sector], rather than the security that’s actually locked on these platforms,” Levin added. More than $140bn of crypto assets is held globally on DeFi protocols, according to data provider DefiLlama. Some of the biggest platforms have boomed in popularity this year as investors seek different ways to make money from their crypto tokens, such as lending them out.

Full report : Chainalysis CEO Jonathan Levin says DeFi platforms’ rapid growth leaves their users’ assets at risk of attack; DefiLlama says $140B+ is held on DeFi protocols.