- Crypto hacks caused $3.4 billion in losses in 2025, driven mainly by three major attacks.
- The $1.4 billion breach of Bybit represented nearly half of the year’s total losses.
- While personal wallets were targeted more frequently, the average theft amount per wallet decreased.
- Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols reported fewer hacks despite increased funds locked.
- North Korean Hackers increased both their total theft and sophistication in 2025.
The cryptocurrency sector experienced $3.4 billion in stolen assets during 2025, marking the highest annual figure since 2022. Most of the losses resulted from three major breaches, including the largest incident—a $1.4 billion hack of the Bybit exchange—that accounted for 69% of stolen funds from January to early December, according to data released by Chainalysis.
Andrew Fierman, head of national security intelligence at Chainalysis, noted that these few large-scale attacks notably skewed the total loss figures. However, the pattern of targeting high-value entities like exchanges and large wallets remains prevalent.
Personal crypto wallets also faced rising attack rates. In 2025, compromised personal wallets made up about 20% of total stolen value, a decrease compared to 44% in 2024 but significantly higher than 7.3% in 2022. The total value stolen from personal wallets dropped from approximately $1.5 billion in 2024 to $713 million this year. This decline occurred despite the number of personal wallet attacks nearly tripling compared to 2022. This trend reflects the smaller balances typically held in individual wallets compared to centralized exchange wallets that aggregate user funds.
Meanwhile, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols showed increased resilience. The total locked value in DeFi rose to roughly $119 billion, more than double 2023 lows below $40 billion, as reported by DefiLlama. Despite this influx of capital, DeFi platforms did not suffer a corresponding increase in hacks. Chainalysis attributes this to improved security practices and hackers shifting focus toward centralized exchanges and wallets.
North Korean cybercriminal groups stole about $2.02 billion in cryptocurrency in 2025, an increase of $681 million compared to 2024. They conducted fewer but significantly larger and more sophisticated attacks, including tactics like embedding IT workers within Web3 projects. Fierman stated that these groups continuously evolve their methods to identify new vulnerabilities and maximize gains while the industry adapts its defenses.
For additional context, see the report at Chainalysis and DeFi statistics at DefiLlama.
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