Back then, I chuckled. Today? That phrase keeps ringing in my ears.
Because in 2022, the largest blockchain hack in history ripped through the industry like a gunfight at high noon—over $1 billion stolen in a single exploit. If that doesn’t shake you up, you probably haven’t had to call a startup founder at 3am telling them their platform just got drained.
It Wasn’t Just One Hack—It Was the Hack
The largest blockchain hack of 2022 wasn’t some random glitch. It was the Ronin Bridge attack—where hackers exploited a vulnerability in Axie Infinity’s cross-chain bridge and made off with around $620 million in ETH and USDC. By year-end, it was clear that this hack alone had pushed total blockchain theft over the $1 billion mark for 2022.
Let that sink in.
These weren’t just numbers on a screen—they were livelihoods, investments, years of development. And if you’ve ever placed a blockchain engineer or advised a founder on hiring a CISO (Chief Information Security Officer), you know the aftershocks of this kind of breach ripple far beyond the codebase.
This attack wasn’t pulled off by a rogue teenager either. The US government later linked it to North Korea’s Lazarus Group—highlighting just how geopolitically charged blockchain security has become.
Bridges: The Broken Bones of Web3?
If there’s one thing 2022 taught us, it’s this: blockchain bridges are the Achilles’ heel of the decentralised world.
We saw $2 billion lost across bridge hacks alone. Why? Because bridges—designed to move assets between chains—are complex, often rushed to market, and lack the rigorous auditing seen in Layer 1 protocols. The Ronin hack proved that even the most promising projects can be undone by a single overlooked vulnerability.
I’ve worked with dev teams where bridges were seen as “future-us problems.” Security was often bolted on last-minute. In recruitment, I started seeing smart contract audit firms go from “nice to have” to “please find us someone yesterday.”
Since then, we’ve made auditing experience almost a baseline for senior engineers. And honestly? It’s one of the best shifts we’ve seen.
Talent Scramble: The Security Hiring Surge
The largest blockchain hack didn’t just drain funds—it triggered a hiring frenzy like no other.
Suddenly, everyone—from DeFi giants to mid-sized protocols—wanted blockchain security experts. Companies that used to scoff at retainer fees were now doubling budgets to bring in top talent.
But here’s the twist: there simply weren’t enough seasoned blockchain security folks to go around. We had clients offering equity, flexible work, and even co-founder status just to secure someone who could lock down their codebase.
What’s worked? Getting creative with sourcing. Tapping into the white-hat hacker communities, looking at traditional cybersecurity folks and training them up in Solidity, even partnering with ethical hacking groups. What hasn’t worked? Waiting until after a breach to build your security team.
One of our clients in early 2023 told me, “We hired for growth first, now we’re hiring for survival.” That stuck with me.
Lessons from the Frontlines
What’s changed since the largest blockchain hack of 2022?
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Security is finally in the roadmap. Not just as a line item, but as a product feature. Teams are baking security into every sprint.
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Talent is levelling up. More engineers are skilling up in security—whether through audit firms, bounty platforms, or direct mentorship.
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Protocols are getting proactive. I’ve seen projects now launch with bounty programmes and real-time exploit detection baked in from day one.
Still, there’s a long way to go.
One thing I’ve learnt in Web3 recruitment is that you can’t fake culture. And security-first culture? That starts with leadership. It means hiring security leads early, rewarding risk-averse behaviour, and actually listening to the engineers who raise red flags.
Remember when projects used to brag about “no audits, but our devs are top-tier”? Yeah. Not anymore.
It’s Not Just Tech—It’s Trust
The largest blockchain hack of 2022 wasn’t just about missing money—it was about broken trust. In a space that thrives on transparency, decentralisation, and community, a breach of that size is a body blow.
But if you ask me, it was also a wake-up call.
As someone who’s helped scale engineering teams for unicorns and worked with pre-seed startups trying to stay above water, I’ve seen what happens when security is an afterthought. And I’ve also seen the power of hiring right—of bringing in people who don’t just write code, but think like attackers.
If you’re in this space, whether as a founder, engineer, or recruiter—learn from 2022. The largest blockchain hack taught us that trust is built on code, culture, and caution.
And if you ever need help finding your own “cyber cowboys”? You know where to find me.
