Nine months into 2025, the cryptocurrency landscape has proven to be one of the most perilous on record, characterised by a worrying paradox: while the volume of attacks has plummeted, the financial damage caused by criminals and hackers has soared.
According to recent data, illicit activities in 2025 have already caused more economic damage than the totals recorded in 2023 or 2024.
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CryptoPresales.com reports that the number of crypto scams and thefts halved in 2025, yet total losses climbed to US$2.34 billion. This unprecedented loss figure is 35 per cent higher than the total recorded in 2024.
The paradox of professionalised crime
The stark trend suggests that crypto scams are becoming fewer in number but significantly more sophisticated and larger in scale.
Despite improved blockchain tracking tools and tightened regulatory rules, crypto crime is climbing again, following a sharp drop in 2023 and a flat performance in 2024. In just nine months, the US$2.34 billion stolen marks a 35 per cent increase compared to the combined losses of 2023 and 2024, cementing 2025 as the third-worst year for this type of crime ever recorded. Only 2021 (US$2.73 billion) and 2022 (US$3.54 billion) saw more money drained from the crypto ecosystem.
This massive theft total was achieved in only half the number of scams. The data indicates that criminals are executing fewer but bigger and more professional hits, often specifically targeting decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols, centralised platforms, or major investor pools.
The US$1.46B catalyst: A single record heist
The sheer scale of 2025’s losses is primarily attributable to a few massive breaches, demonstrating the vulnerability of major financial hubs.
Since the start of the year, only 83 reported cases have occurred, 2.2 times less than the total figure for 2024 and the lowest recorded figure since 2020. However, a single, successful attack dramatically boosted the total to US$2.34 billion.
Nearly 60 per cent of the entire year-to-date value was stolen in just one major incident. In February, the Dubai-based centralised exchange Bybit was struck by an attack that stole a record-breaking US$1.46 billion from its Ethereum (ETH) cold wallets. This attack is now the largest crypto crime on record. It is rumoured to have been carried out by North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
For context, in 2024, criminals stole US$1.74 billion across 187 crypto heists. In 2023, while the total stolen amount was the same (US$1.74 billion), it was achieved across 283 heists—the highest number recorded to date.
Cumulative theft exceeds US$15B
With US$2.34 billion stolen year-to-date in 2025, cumulative crypto theft has reached staggering heights.
Statistics indicate that crypto criminals have accumulated an eye-watering US$15.1 billion across 1,102 reported heists. Furthermore, nearly 80 per cent of all these losses, amounting to approximately US$12.1 billion, have occurred within the last five years.
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In a hypothetical scenario, if hackers had retained all the stolen cryptocurrencies and cashed them out at today’s prices, they would possess a fortune worth US$53.1 billion.
According to a Chainalysis report, projections indicate that stolen funds from services could eclipse US$4 billion by the year’s end if current trajectories persist.
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