As the market soars with bullish momentum, crypto theft has also seen a record-breaking performance during the first half of this year. A recent report revealed that stolen funds from services so far have surpassed the numbers from previous years. Related Reading: Crypto Relief: House Advances GENIUS, CLARITY, Anti-CBDC Bills After Narrow Vote Stolen Crypto Service Funds Hit $2B In 6 months On Thursday, Chainalysis shared its “2025 Crypto Crime Mid-Year Update,” revealing that digital assets theft this year has been “more devastating” than the entirety of 2024, with over $2.7 billion worth of funds stolen from crypto services so far. The report noted that, by the end of June, more value had been stolen year-to-date (YTD) than during the same period in 2022, the previous worst year on record, suggesting that theft from crypto services could potentially increase another 60% by year’s end. 2025’s YTD activity shows a significantly steeper trajectory into the end of the first half than any previous year, with an alarming velocity and consistency. 2022 required 214 days to hit the $2 billion mark in value stolen from services, while 2025 reached comparable theft volumes in 142 days. Additionally, 2025 is 17.27% worse than 2022 during the same six-month period, while 2023 and 2024 saw more moderate and steady accumulation patterns. The surge in the cumulative trend value from crypto services theft “paints a stark picture of 2025’s escalating threat environment.” According to the report, “If this trend continues, we could see 2025 end with more than $4.3 billion stolen from services alone.” However, it’s worth noting that the North Korean-linked $1.5 billion hack of Bybit accounts for most of the service losses. The massive breach, which is the largest crypto hack in history, signals a “broader pattern of North Korean cryptocurrency operations, which have become increasingly central to the regime’s sanctions evasion strategies.” Last year, known North Korean-related losses reached their highest number, with the value reaching $1.3 billion. Nonetheless, Bybit’s February hack surpassed it, making 2025 the worst year to date. Personal Wallet Attacks Surge Amid the shifting landscape, the report highlights that the surge in crypto thefts represents an immediate threat to participants. Notably, attackers are increasingly targeting individual users, as personal wallet incidents represent a growing share of total ecosystem theft. YTD, these compromises account for 23.35% of all stolen funds activities in 2025, with Bitcoin (BTC) theft accounting for a substantial share of stolen value. Chainalysis also found that the average loss from compromised personal BTC wallets has increased, suggesting a deliberate target on higher-value individual holdings. Moreover, the number of individual victims on non-Bitcoin and non-EVM chains, like Solana, is increasing. This suggests that Bitcoin holders experience larger losses in terms of value taken, despite being less likely to fall victim to targeted theft. Related Reading: SUI Eyes 140% Move As Price Reclaims $4 – New ATH Imminent? Within the personal wallet incidents, a violent subsection has also seen a dramatic surge this year, showing a correlation with BTC price movements and suggesting opportunistic targeting during high-value periods. The forward-looking implication is that, if the value of native assets increases, the value compromised from personal wallets will also likely rise. Per the report, theft using physical violence or coercion against individuals, also known as “wrench attacks,” could potentially hit twice the number of 2021, the next highest year on record. As of this writing, Bitcoin is trading at $119,807, a 14.8% increase in the monthly timeframe. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
The first half of 2025 exposed deep vulnerabilities in the crypto industry, with hackers stealing over $2.1 billion across 75 separate incidents. This marks a 10% increase from the previous H1 record of $2 billion in 2022 and nearly matches the full-year figure for 2024, which closed at $2.2 billion, according to a report from […]
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The organization behind one of the world’s largest blockchain networks confirmed that TRON’s X account was compromised on May 2, 2025, in a targeted social engineering attack. The breach lasted from 9:25 A.M. PST, when an unauthorized party published a post containing a suspicious contract address. The hacker then proceeded to send direct messages (DMs) […]
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The crypto payments platform UPCX temporarily halted deposits and withdrawals following a security breach that may have led to the loss of around $70 million in digital assets. On April 1, the platform revealed it had detected unauthorized access to a management account. In response, UPCX immediately suspended all user transactions as a precaution while […]
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Blockchain security firm Cyvers has reported a major security breach that affected DeFi platform Abracadabra’s MIM_Spell platform. The attack led to the loss of 6,262 ETH, equivalent to around $12.9 million. According to Cyvers, the attacker quickly bridged the stolen ETH to the Ethereum network and distributed the funds across three newly generated wallets. MIM […]
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The United States, Japan, and South Korea have joined together to warn the industry about the ongoing hacking threats by North Korean actors after observing “aggressive” targeting of the crypto industry. Related Reading: US Supreme Court Rejects Binance’s Appeal In Revived Crypto Investors Lawsuit US, Japan, South Korea Send Warning In a joint statement, the […]
North Korea-affiliated hackers stole at least $1.34 billion worth of digital assets in 2024.
A blockchain security solution by Cyvers could prevent 99% of crypto hacks and scams, addressing vulnerabilities like phishing and CEX exploits that cost $2.3 billion in 2024.
The security incidents occurred days after a researcher discovered a critical bug in a Virtuals Protocol audited contract, which was fixed.
Phishing attacks were the most costly attack vector for the crypto industry in 2024, netting attackers over $1 billion across 296 incidents.
Both CertiK and PeckShield shared data showing December was the lowest month of crypto losses in 2024.
2025 may usher in significant crypto developments, like the first Solana-based ETF and more advanced AI crypto trading bots, but it could also bring new threats.
A recent report warned about a new sophisticated phishing scam targeting unsuspected crypto users. The scheme involves fake Zoom meeting links to trick investors into downloading malicious software to steal their assets. Related Reading: Russian Companies Using Bitcoin For International Payments To Evade Sanctions – Report Fake Zoom Link Steals Private Data On Friday, Blockchain […]
The sanctioned agents were allegedly generating funds for North Korea’s nuclear weapon development program in Pyongyang.
According to Cyvers, the 40% yearly increase was mainly driven by growing access control vulnerabilities amid centralized exchanges and cryptocurrency custodians.
This year, crypto hacks increased in the total value stolen and the number of attacks compared to last year. According to a recent report, the industry lost over $2 billion in the past 12 months, with over half of the funds allegedly being stolen by North Korean hackers. Related Reading: Morocco’s New Crypto Framework ‘To […]
Crypto thefts surged to $2.2 billion in 2024, representing a 21% rise compared to the previous year. According to a Dec. 19 report by Chainalysis, this increase is closely tied to a growing wave of hacking activity, particularly by North Korean-linked cybercriminal groups. Escalation in hacking activity The crypto sector experienced 303 hacking incidents in […]
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In a video posted to X, Ilya Lichtenstein reiterates he acted alone in stealing 120,000 bitcoin, denying a Netflix documentary's speculation.
Losses to crypto phishing scams fell 53% in November, but the Christmas holiday shopping season presents new opportunities for hackers.
A $450,000 hack on Clipper was likely from a withdrawal vulnerability, not a leak, the decentralized exchange has said.
The crypto industry experienced its second-lowest monthly losses this month, November 2024, with $71 million lost across 26 incidents, according to blockchain security firm Immunefi. This marked a significant improvement compared to November 2023, which recorded $343 million in losses, representing a 79% year-over-year drop and a 4% decrease month-over-month. Year-to-date (YTD) figures show the […]
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South Korea said North Korean hackers Lazarus and Andariel were behind the $50 million Upbit hack in 2019, with the stolen crypto now valued at over $1 billion.
The industry is still recovering from the $230 million WazirX hack, which occurred less than four months ago.
Cosmos’ co-founder and core contributors were previously unaware of the North Korean link, which could lead to the removal of the Liquid Staking Module.
Global fintech Revolut revealed it prevented millions in potential losses in the last three months, using its crypto-specific measures and transaction monitoring to tackle criminal activity as malicious actors continue to target the industry. Related Reading: How Bitcoin Is Propelling A Small Texas Town Into A New Economic Era: The Rockdale Story Revolut Prevents $13 […]
A crypto investigation recently deep-dived into one of the industry’s largest problems, revealing its extent might be larger than suspected. The report exposed how North Korean hackers have targeted and infiltrated the sector, presenting many legal and cybersecurity risks for companies and investors. Related Reading: Sony’s Ethereum L2 Joins Ava Protocol To Support Creators, Here’s […]
Binance urged the WazirX team to take accountability for the hack, and compensate users for the loss of funds.
Blockchain security firm Asymmetric Research privately disclosed the vulnerability to Circle, which has since been addressed.
Despite the falling number of smart contract exploits, hackers could surpass the previous year in terms of total value stolen.
Consensys integrates Wallet Guard to boost MetaMask’s security, aiming to drive user fund losses to zero amid rising Web3 threats.