Crypto hackers stole more than $2.7 billion worth of digital assets in 2025, marking the worst year on record for crypto-related thefts, according to data from multiple blockchain security firms. The figure highlights how cybercrime continues to scale alongside the growth of the crypto industry.
As in previous years, the bulk of the losses came from large-scale attacks on centralized exchanges, decentralized finance protocols, and other Web3 platforms. Dozens of major incidents were recorded throughout the year, affecting both retail users and institutional platforms.
Bybit hack becomes the largest crypto theft ever
The single largest incident in 2025 was the breach of the Dubai-based crypto exchange Bybit. Hackers stole approximately $1.4 billion in crypto, making it the largest known crypto theft of all time and one of the biggest financial heists ever recorded.
Blockchain analysis firms and the FBI attributed the attack to North Korean state-sponsored hackers, who have been linked to most major crypto thefts in recent years. Before the Bybit breach, the biggest crypto hacks were the 2022 attacks on Ronin Network and Poly Network, which resulted in losses of $624 million and $611 million, respectively.
North Korean hackers dominate crypto crime again
According to Chainalysis, TRM Labs, and Elliptic, North Korean hacking groups were responsible for at least $2 billion of the crypto stolen in 2025. Estimates suggest that these groups have stolen roughly $6 billion in crypto since 2017, with proceeds believed to be used to fund North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
Beyond Bybit, several other major hacks contributed to the year’s total. The decentralized exchange Cetus lost $223 million, Ethereum-based protocol Balancer suffered a $128 million breach, and crypto exchange Phemex was hit for more than $73 million.
Overall, the numbers confirm a clear trend. Hackers stole $2.2 billion in crypto in 2024 and around $2 billion in 2023, showing that crypto crime is not slowing down.
The real losses are likely much higher
While the $2.7 billion figure is alarming on its own, it does not tell the full story. These estimates primarily cover large, publicly reported hacks against exchanges and DeFi protocols.
They do not fully account for losses caused by phishing attacks, fake wallet apps, malicious smart contracts, or user-side bugs and exploits. In many of these cases, stolen funds go unreported or are difficult to track on-chain, meaning the true amount of crypto lost by individual users is likely far higher.
Chainalysis separately tracked around $700,000 stolen from individual wallets in 2025, but this number likely represents only a fraction of real user losses.
Why hardware wallets matter more than ever
The continued rise in crypto theft highlights the growing importance of proper self-custody and security practices, especially the use of hardware wallets.
Hardware wallets store private keys offline, making them far more resistant to phishing attacks, malware, and compromised websites. Even if a user unknowingly interacts with a malicious site, the attacker cannot access the funds without physical access to the device and manual transaction approval.
This is particularly important given that many user losses come from social engineering rather than direct protocol hacks. Fake airdrops, spoofed websites, and wallet-draining approvals remain common attack vectors, and software wallets alone often provide limited protection.
While hardware wallets cannot prevent all mistakes, they add a critical layer of defense that can stop many attacks before funds are moved. As crypto crime continues to grow, relying solely on hot wallets or exchange custody exposes users to risks that are increasingly difficult to ignore.
Security remains a weak point for crypto adoption
The record-breaking losses in 2025 show that security remains one of the biggest challenges facing the crypto industry. Exchanges and DeFi platforms continue to improve their defenses, but attackers are adapting just as quickly.
For users, the lesson is clear. Platform-level security failures are only part of the problem, and personal wallet security plays a major role in protecting funds. As hackers continue to target both infrastructure and individuals, tools like hardware wallets are becoming less of an optional upgrade and more of a basic requirement for anyone holding crypto long term.
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