Over $100 million worth of NFTs were stolen in the last year: Elliptic

A new report from the blockchain analytics firm Elliptic sheds light on non-fungible token (NFT) theft, scams and other illegal activity. 

Elliptic’s report found that over $100 million worth of NFTs were stolen between July 2021 and July 2022, though the true amount is likely higher as thefts are retroactively identified.  

While seemingly high, the estimated $100 million of stolen NFTs comprised about 0.65% of overall trading volume during that time, according to The Block’s data dashboard. Between July 2021 and July 2022, approximately $15.3 billion worth NFT transactions occurred.  

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Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs were the most likely NFT to be publicly reported stolen, according to the report. Elliptic identified 167 stolen Bored Apes worth over $43.6 million. Mutant Ape Yacht Club and Azuki NFTs were the second and third most likely to be stolen, losing $14.5 million and $3.9 million respectively. 

The highest value of NFTs stolen through scams happened in May of 2022 at $24 million, and the most NFTs stolen in a month occurred in July of 2022 at 4,600.

Elliptic suggests that this year’s bear market, which began around May following the UST-Terra collapse, did not slow down NFT thefts.