Hacks and Security Incidents in 2025: A Year That Exposed Crypto’s Weakest Links

2025 exposed crypto security failures as hacks hit exchanges, DeFi, wallets, and smart contracts, costing billions and reshaping trust worldwide

The year 2025 became one of the most damaging periods in crypto history due to security failures. Throughout the course of the year, hackers targeted exchanges, DeFi platforms, wallets and smart contracts. As a result, billions of dollars of digital assets were lost on several blockchains. These incidents exposed critical weaknesses in security practices, governance and user protection throughout the industry.

Rather than back-to-back events, the attacks were part of a pattern. Hackers exploited the weakness of access controls, private key leaks, faulty smart contracts and wallet approvals. As such, both centralized and decentralized platforms encountered increasing scrutiny from regulators, investors, and users all over the world.

February 2025: Bybit Suffers the Largest Crypto Heist in History

On the 21st of February 2025, cryptocurrency exchange Bybit experienced the largest single cryptocurrency hack ever recorded. Attackers stole an estimated $1.5 billion worth of Ethereum, in an epic breach in digital finance. The stolen money amounted to approximately 401,000 ETH, swept away from one of the Ethereum cold wallets at Bybit.

According to investigators, the breach came as a result of what appeared to be a routine internal transfer. However, attackers took advantage of internal vulnerabilities and achieved unauthorized access to critical systems. Blockchain forensic analysts were later able to trace the movement of funds through multiple wallets and mixers.

Both independent security researchers and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation blamed the attack on the Lazarus Group, a state-sponsored hacking group that has been associated with North Korea. The group has a long history of attacking crypto platforms to support state activities.

Bybit hack sent shockwaves in the market. Ethereum prices briefly fell, and exchanges scramble to audit internal controls. Moreover, regulators used the incident as proof even large platforms are vulnerable to sophisticated attackers.

Later in February, Four.Meme, a BNB Chain-based memecoin launchpad, experienced a security breach and lost around $183,000. While less than the Bybit incident, the hack raised important concerns around emerging platforms in market segments with a high risk of fraud.

Four.Meme was launched in July 2024 and has quickly become a part of the BNB Chain ecosystem. The platform enabled creators and traders to list memecoins and gain a lot of liquidity in a short period of time. However, such rapid growth also made it an attractive target for attackers.

The breach came as there have been warnings raised on memecoin infrastructure security. Analysts pointed out that many such platforms focus on speed and accessibility rather than solid audits. As the liquidity rises, attackers tend to take advantage of weak safeguards, which is particularly true of early-stage projects.

March 2025: Zoth DeFi Hack Exposes Private Key Risks

In March, Ethereum-based decentralized finance platform Zoth lost $8.85 million worth of digital assets after a private key was leaked. Hackers took advantage of the exposed key to empty USD0++ tokens from the platform’s reserves.

After gaining access, attackers exchanged most of the stolen tokens into $8.3 million worth of DAI, making it hard to retrieve. The incident raised serious concerns about the private key management in DeFi environments.

Zoth has confirmed the breach and announced its plans for a detailed post-incident report. Security experts stressed that private key exposure is one of the most common and preventable reasons for DeFi losses. The hack added to demands for improved custody practices and access segregation.

April 2025: KiloEx Loses $7 Million Across Multiple Chains

In April, perpetual trading platform KiloEx was the victim of a multi-chain attack that saw nearly $7m stolen from the BNB, Base, and Taiko networks. The attacker was using an address funded by Tornado Cash, making tracing the funds more difficult.

Blockchain security firm Cyvers detected the exploit and alerted the community early on. According to Cyvers, the breach was likely the result of faulty access controls that were associated with the platform’s price oracle system. Such weaknesses enabled the attackers to manipulate transactions across chains.

KiloEx verified that the hack occurred and requested its partner platforms to blacklist the hacker’s address. The company promised a full incident report while putting affected services on hold for the time being. The attack demonstrated the amplifying effects on cross-chain systems where there are vulnerabilities.

June 2025: Nobitex Suffers $90 Million Cyberattack

June is one of the worse than the last months for crypto security. On June 18, Iran-based exchange Nobitex was hacked and lost more than $90 million. A pro-Israel hacking group called Gonjeshke Darande took the blame.

The attackers drained hot wallets containing various assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Ripple, Solana, Tron and Ton. Following the breach, Nobitex shut down any services while it investigated the breach and secured its infrastructure.

The exchange later restored services and gave priority to verified users in its recovery process. Nobitex said the attack was not on user behavior, but on the company’s infrastructure. The incident was a good example of how geopolitical conflicts seeps into the realm of cyber wars in crypto markets more and more.

Also in June, Taiwan-based exchange BitoPro reportedly lost some $11.5 million in digital assets. Funds were siphoned on Ethereum, Tron, Solana, and Polygon networks.

At first, BitoPro was denying a hack, blaming system maintenance. However, strange withdrawal patterns and evidence on the blockchain quickly raised alarms amongst the crypto community. Analysts later concluded that it was likely that the platform had a security breach.

The delay of the acknowledgment attracted criticism from users and industry observers. The incident strengthened the need for transparency in security events, particularly as exchanges are subjected to growing regulatory expectations.

July 2025: WOO X and CoinDCX Hit by Major Attacks

July witnessed several high profile hacks of exchanges. Trading platform WOO X announced the suspected breach with losses of more than $12 million. Assets affected included Bitcoin, Ethereum, the BNB token and the Arbitrum token.

Blockchain security firm Cyvers first reported the suspicious activity. In response, WOO X froze withdrawals and promised full refunds to affected users. In what was unusual market behavior, the platform’s trading volume rose 260% after the incident.

Later in July, Indian exchange CoinDCX was hacked worth $44.2 million. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT pinpointed the breach and said the attacker relied on Tornado Cash and was bridging stablecoins from the Solana blockchain to Ethereum.

CoinDCX did not make the breach immediately known, causing the breach to attract criticism. However, the exchange later confirmed that it took the full loss in contrast to earlier regional incidents where partial compensation was made.

August 2025: Wallet Approval Exploits Drain $582,000

In August, attackers have targeted individual wallets using malicious token approvals. Two large wallets lost a combined $582,000 in stETH and SPX tokens. The attackers waited until balances were increased before making rapid withdrawals.

Web3 Antivirus highlighted the incident, explaining that silent approvals are a common, and overlooked vulnerability. Once approved by malicious actors, they are able to drain an amount without the need of further user interaction.

The event served as a new warning for the users to regularly review wallet permissions. Security experts stressed that user education is still key in the prevention of wallet-based attacks.

September 2025: Hyperdrive Smart Contract Exploit

On September 27, Hyperdrive, a lending protocol built on the Hyperliquid network, lost $782,000 following a smart contract exploit. Attackers drained two liquidity pools including the Primary USDT0 Market.

Stolen assets included 673,000 USDT0 stablecoins and 110,244 thBILL tokens, which were quickly swapped into cross-chain assets. Blockchain security firm CertiK confirmed that the exploit was arbitrary contract calls.

The incident was yet another example of the dangers of complex smart contract logic – especially in lending protocols which manage large liquidity pools.

October 2025: Bunni DEX Closes After $8.4M Exploit

In October, decentralized exchange Bunni announced its permanent shutdown following an exploit that drained up to $8.4 million. The target of the attack were core smart contracts from Ethereum and Unichain.

Hackers targeted the Bunni’s Liquidity Density Function which controlled multiple pools. As a result, liquidity pools containing USDT and USDC were emptied. Stolen assets were bridged and laundered using Ethereum.

The Bunni team calculated that it would take 6 to 7 figures just in audit costs to make a safe relaunch. Combined with delays in development, the team decided to close itself down for good.

November 2025: Upbit Loses $38.5 Million on Solana

In November, South Korea’s largest exchange, Upbit, reported an abnormal outflow of about $38.5 million worth of assets onthe  Solana network. The incident happened in early morning hours on November 27.

Upbit immediately suspended deposit and withdrawal of affected assets. The exchange later promised to make up for the loss in full to users from corporate funds. The response wailed back to recovery measures taken following a previous breach in 2019.

December 2025: Hack of Trust Wallet Browser Extension

The year closed with the confirmation of Trust Wallet of a hack of its browser extension resulting in losses of more than $6 million. The problem struck a certain version of the extension and led to sudden drains of wallets.

Following reports from users, Trust Wallet came out with urgent updates and security warnings. Blockchain investigators started to track stolen funds across networks. The incident made a case for persistent threats associated with browser-based crypto tools.

A Year of Hard Lessons

Overall, 2025 exposed deep structural weaknesses in the security of crypto. From state-sponsored attacks to basic approval exploits, hackers showed an increasing level of sophistication. As the industry matures, security standards, audits and user education will continue to be important for long-term trust and stability.

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