Decentralised finance: Latest front in crypto's hacking problem

FILE PHOTO: A representation of cryptocurrency Monero is seen in this illustration taken August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustrationo

LONDON (Reuters) -For most of the 13-year life of cryptocurrencies, exchanges were the epicentre for cyberheists. Now, a bigger hacking risk in the growing sector has exploded into view: peer-to-peer crypto platforms.

One such site, Poly Network, was at the centre of a $610 million crypto theft last week, one of the biggest ever. Within days of the heist, the decentralised finance (DeFi) platform said the "white hat" hacker or hackers had returned nearly all the loot.