Investors flee DeFi after $14B exit amid North Korean hacks

According to PYMNTS, cryptocurrency investors are exiting the decentralised finance (DeFi) space after two high-profile hacks, with close to $14 billion pulled from DeFi projects in recent weeks, the Financial Times reported, citing data firm DefiLlama. The article notes that the hacks involved attackers tied to the North Korean government who stole $290 million from the KelpDAO platform and used the funds as collateral to borrow $230 million from Aave, the sector’s biggest lender.

Weeks earlier, hackers siphoned $280 million from the Drift DeFi exchange. The report frames these events as contributing to the mass withdrawal from DeFi and the broader sense of risk in the sector.