The amount of crypto stolen by hackers has risen by more than a quarter this year, even as the value of cryptocurrencies has plunged. Blockchain thieves have nabbed as much as $3 billion of investor funds through 141 various crypto exploits since January, according to data from DeFi Yield, a 31% increase over the same period last year. That means 2022 likely will surpass 2021 as the biggest year for crypto hacks on record, Of the nearly weekly occurrence’s of crypto exploits this year, those involving “cross-chain” crypto bridges have accounted for as much as $600 million in October and $2 billion worth of stolen funds year to date, with at least $1 billion in exploits attributed to North Korean-linked hackers, according to Chainalysis estimates. “These are serious national security concerns that really stretch beyond the fact that there are millions of dollars being stolen in single episodes that we see with the DeFi hacks and exploits,” Eun Young Choi, director of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), said at Yahoo Finance’s All Markets Summit.

Read more : Justice Dept’s crypto chief: Crypto thefts are ‘serious national security concerns’.