2025 Crypto Theft Hits Record $4B, Hacks Still Dominate

Crypto-related theft reached a new record in 2025. According to a recent report by PeckShield, total losses last year exceeded $4.04 billion, up roughly 34% from $3.01 billion in 2024. This surge was driven by weaknesses in centralized systems and more aggressive social engineering campaigns.

As per the report, theft patterns shifted toward fewer, larger incidents rather than a high number of small attacks. Crypto hacks accounted for $2.67 billion in losses, a 24% increase from 2024. During this time, scams totaled $1.37 billion, up by more than 64% year over year.

PeckShield revealed that only about $334.9 million of stolen funds were recovered or frozen in 2025, down sharply from $488.5 million in 2024. More funds moved quickly through bridges, mixers, and cross-chain routes, which reduced recovery chances.

Monthly data shows that February led the crypto thefts with $1.77 billion, driven by the Bybit breach. May and April followed at $593 million and $407 million, respectively.

Bybit Breach: The Largest Incident of 2025

The largest incident of the year was the attack on Dubai-based exchange Bybit in February. It was the biggest single crypto theft ever recorded. The hackers exploited a private key leak in Bybit’s hot wallet system to steal roughly $1.4 billion.

Other major breaches include Cetus decentralized exchange, which lost $223 million in May. In November, Ethereum-based protocol Balancer also suffered a $128 million exploit.

Together, these large incidents accounted for a large share of total annual losses.

North Korea Leads Threat Activity

North Korean-linked actors were the dominant source of crypto thefts last year. According to a December report by Chainalysis, they stole at least $2.02 billion in digital assets in 2025, a 51% increase from the previous year.

These attacks represented about 76% of all service-related breaches. The cumulative estimate of funds stolen by North Korea now stands near $6.75 billion.

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