Why Drainers Are A Major Risk For Crypto

If you have ever connected your wallet to an unfamiliar site in search of 'free tokens', you were already standing on the edge of one of the most dangerous traps in the crypto market. In 2025, drainers became the fastest-growing asset theft scheme — in the first six months of this year, according to SlowMist, users lost over 320 million dollars through drainer sites. This threat is not somewhere far away; it is right next to anyone who is chasing freebies or rushing to grab an opportunity in a new project. A single click on the 'Connect Wallet' button can instantly wipe out all your savings in MetaMask, Trust Wallet, or any other wallet you store in your browser or smartphone.

Drainer sites are becoming more sophisticated every day. Scammers no longer create primitive phishing pages. They build websites that look identical to the real platforms of major DeFi protocols or popular NFT marketplaces. In design, style, even in the code — everything mirrors the original. Exposing such a clone by eye is impossible. Under these conditions, even experienced traders are losing money more often, not to mention newcomers.

How Drainer Sites Work: Deception In 1 Click

The draining scenario starts when a user finds a link to a new 'promising project'. In Telegram, X, or on a crypto forum, supposedly insider information about the start of an airdrop is published. The site promises free tokens in exchange for connecting your wallet, but immediately after connecting, it prompts you to confirm 'permissions to manage tokens'. Hidden in these permissions is the core of the attack: the drainer site requests access not to a specific token, but to all the funds on your address. By signing such a permission, you give them the ability to transfer your coins without needing your further involvement.

Worst of all, modern drainers immediately run a chain of transactions through mixers or cross-chain bridges — the stolen funds are instantly split into thousands of pieces, which flow to anonymous addresses. Because of this, tracking the money is nearly impossible. The security firm PeckShield notes that the average time from theft to full withdrawal of funds in 2025 is less than 4 minutes.

What Happens After Connecting The Wallet

Once you sign the permission, a script on the website automatically launches transactions to smart contracts crafted to instantly send your funds to the attackers' addresses. This is the insidious part of modern drainers — they do everything as quietly as possible. Most users receive transaction notifications with delays, or they do not receive them at all if push notifications are disabled. As a result, a person might not suspect the theft for weeks.

Especially dangerous is the fact that even if you notice the problem quickly, it is already too late to revoke the permission. Stopping a transaction on the blockchain is impossible — the network does not support canceling confirmed operations. The only chance to save your funds is to preconfigure limits and permissions so that your wallet demands additional confirmation for large transfers.

Where These Sites Come From And Why They Are Not Obvious

In 2025, drainers most often disguise themselves as copies of top projects. For example, in recent months, fake sites have appeared pretending to belong to Uniswap, LayerZero, Arbitrum, and other DeFi giants. The counterfeits are so precise that even the links to social media direct to the correct accounts of the legitimate projects. This creates a complete illusion of legitimacy and leaves no chance to spot the fake at first glance.

These sites spread through advertising campaigns in Telegram channels, sponsored posts in X, and by buying hacked accounts of well-known crypto influencers. Many followers do not even suspect that their favorite influencer has temporarily lost access to the account and continue trusting any links posted on their feed.

Tactics Used By Drainers

Today, drainers not only copy websites but also use social engineering. They send users fake notifications saying they need to 'confirm' ownership of tokens to participate in DAO voting or to receive bonuses. This method is especially effective in ecosystems with active communities, such as Starknet, Optimism, and Solana.

Another popular tactic is creating fake bounty campaigns on behalf of well-known projects. In these 'promotions', users are offered to complete a few simple tasks and connect their wallet to receive a reward. According to ScamSniffer, in January–June 2025, fake bounties accounted for over 60% of all successful drainer attacks.

Why Freebies In Crypto Are Scammers' Best Friend

The idea of getting free crypto has always been part of crypto market culture. The first Bitcoin enthusiasts really did give away coins to popularize the technology. But today, it is precisely the greed for freebies that makes most users easy prey. The trap is simple: the promise of an 'airdrop' dulls caution, and even experienced investors can forget basic safety rules. Yet genuine airdrops no longer require signing suspicious permissions or connecting your wallet to unknown sites.

According to Chainalysis, 78% of phishing attacks in crypto in 2025 start with luring victims through the promise of free tokens or NFTs. This method has proven several times more effective than direct hacking or spam.

Where You Can Earn Crypto Safely

However, you do not need to completely abandon free opportunities. Legitimate airdrops and bounty programs still exist and allow you to earn crypto without investment. The key is to use the official websites of projects and follow announcements in verified social media accounts. For example, in April of this year, the major protocol EigenLayer ran an airdrop, but all participation forms were available only through the project’s website and its Discord. Genuine teams do not send links via direct messages.

Always check token contracts through services like Etherscan or Solscan, and double-check in official chats if the project really has an active distribution program. This simple habit can help you avoid most scams.

How To Protect Your Wallets From Drainers

The best solution to protect your assets is to proactively manage permissions in your wallet using services like Revoke.cash or DeBank. These platforms let you revoke unnecessary permissions and keep your wallet under control. Even better is to store large sums in services with enhanced security and multi-signature authorization.

For example, the crypto project Coinhold, operating under EMCD, is a savings wallet designed to store crypto with passive income. Your funds are kept in cold storage with multi-level authorization, so even if you accidentally sign a malicious permission on a third-party site, your coins will remain safe. How much can you earn? Up to 14%.

In the crypto market, the winner is not the one who clicks on links the fastest, but the one who takes time to verify information and thinks about security. Do not rush to connect your wallet to suspicious sites in pursuit of free tokens — and you will keep your assets safe.