In a staggering development, cybercriminals have pilfered $2.7 billion in cryptocurrency this year, marking a new peak for crypto-related thefts, as reported by blockchain-monitoring companies.
The Rise of Crypto Heists in 2025
Throughout 2025, numerous crypto heists targeted various cryptocurrency exchanges, alongside web3 and decentralized finance (DeFi) initiatives. The most significant breach occurred at Bybit, a crypto exchange based in Dubai, where hackers made off with approximately $1.4 billion in digital assets. Investigations by blockchain analytics firms and the FBI implicated North Korean state-sponsored hackers—recognized as the most active group in crypto thefts over recent years—in this monumental theft.
A Record-Breaking Theft
This incident stands as the largest known cryptocurrency theft ever recorded and ranks among the most substantial financial crimes in history. Prior to the Bybit breach, the highest-profile crypto thefts in 2022 involved $624 million and $611 million being stolen from the Ronin Network and Poly Network, respectively.
Staggering Financial Estimates
According to data shared with TechCrunch, cryptocurrency monitoring firms Chainalysis and TRM Labs both estimated a total of $2.7 billion in crypto thefts for 2025. Additionally, Chainalysis reported an extra $700,000 was stolen from individual crypto wallets during this period.
Tracking Crypto Theft
De.Fi, a web3 security firm, operates the REKT database, which also corroborated the estimate of $2.7 billion in stolen and hacked cryptocurrency last year.
The Role of North Korean Hackers
As has been the trend, North Korean state-sponsored hackers emerged as the most effective cryptocurrency thieves in 2025, reportedly stealing at least $2 billion. Chainalysis and Elliptic estimate that these hackers have collectively appropriated around $6 billion since 2017, with the stolen funds often being utilized to finance the country’s sanctioned nuclear weapons program.
Other Major Hacks of 2025
This year also saw significant hacks including the attack on Cetus, a decentralized exchange, which resulted in a theft of $223 million; the breach of Balancer, an Ethereum-based protocol, that lost $128 million; and the hack of the exchange Phemex, where over $73 million was stolen by cybercriminals.
Unstoppable Trend of Crypto Theft
The trend of cybercriminals targeting cryptocurrency exchanges and DeFi projects shows no signs of abating. In 2024, hackers stole $2.2 billion in crypto, while the previous year, 2023, saw $2 billion in losses.
