More Threats Against DeFi and Individual Users

Hackers made off with millions after hitting the KuCoin exchange in September, while a range of DeFi (decentralized finance) platforms — Balancer, Opyn, Akropolis, and others — also received more than their fair share of drama throughout the year. And while the growth in institutional investment may result in exchanges further improving their security standards and measures, we’re likely to see an increase in attacks against DeFi platforms, smart contracts, and individual users.

The first prediction for 2021 is that, while attacks on exchanges will either remain stable or decline (at least with established exchanges), attacks on DeFi platforms and protocols — particularly new ones — will rise. Pavol ‘Stick’ Rusnák, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of SatoshiLabs, the maker of the Trezor hardware wallet, also said it’s inevitable that hacks on smart contracts and new DeFi platforms will rise in 2021, particularly with new start-ups rushing to capitalize on the DeFi boom.

Timeline of Balancer