2025 broke the record for cryptocurrency hack by draining billions from platforms with weak systems, blockchains, and trust failures facilitated stealing funds and moving them across borders.
The damage goes beyond losing money and protecting crypto wallet. These incidents demonstrate how crypto technology is tested by attackers that understand code and human behavior, forcing the industry to reconsider how assets are protected.
Weak Defenses Against Digital Criminals
Blockchain monitoring companies estimate that a billion crypto stolen, reaching $2.7 billion in 2025 alone. The biggest attack was against Dubai-based exchange, Bybit, where hackers walked away with around $1.4 billion in yet another mega cryptocurrency hack in the sector’s short life.
Bybit linked the breach to North Korea crypto hackers who have long been accused of targeting assets by investigators. North Korea crypto hackers remain a central global concern till this day.
According to the FBI and blockchain companies, attackers use advanced tools – and patience – to exploit system gaps and move stolen funds before any suspicion is raised.
Not very much later, a series of other incidents followed. A DeFi protocol hack on the platform of Cetus led to losses amounting to $223 million with the hack of another DeFi protocol on Balancer, which cost $128 million.
The result? Unveiling the issues with crypto exchange security as platforms rush to launch new features.
Chainalysis, TRM Labs, and De. Fi reported similar totals, confirming the scale of the problem. Beyond large platforms, smaller thefts also continued, often targeting individuals unfamiliar with protecting crypto wallet tools and basic safety steps.
Cryptocurrency Hack and Investigations
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed charges against a bunch of fake investment clubs and crypto platforms allegedly stealing $14 million. That case has become part of a wider investigation into crypto hack activity that blends social tricks with digital tools.
The SEC said scammers used WhatsApp groups and promised AI advice, pushing victims toward fake platforms.
“This was an elaborate confidence scam through which investors’ assets were never invested as defendants represented, they would be but instead were misappropriated from the start,” the SEC said.
Some claimed they had licenses and required fees before withdrawals, but that never came. According to officials, the funds disappeared overseas via banks and crypto wallets, mimicking patterns seen in previous cryptocurrency hack cases.
Analysts estimate that billion crypto stolen have happened since 2017. Much of it through repeated DeFi protocol hack incidents and attacks that exposed weak exchange security.
As billion crypto was stolen year after year, with weak cryptocurrency exchange security experts warn that without stronger safeguards and better user awareness, the next cryptocurrency hack may already be in motion.
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