Record $2.1B lost to crypto hacks in H1 2025 as $9.32B of illicit funds moved in 2024
A new report on digital asset security from TRM Labs reveals that cybercriminals stole more than $2.1 billion in crypto across 75 separate incidents in the first six months of 2025. This figure surpasses previous records and nearly equals the total amount stolen in all of 2024, signaling a dramatic escalation in threats to the ecosystem.
The defining event was the colossal $1.5 billion breach of Dubai-based crypto exchange Bybit in February. According to the report, this attack alone accounted for nearly 70% of the total losses and was carried out by groups linked to North Korea. This single incident cemented the nation's role as the most dominant state actor in the crypto-hacking space, with North Korea-linked groups responsible for an estimated $1.6 billion of the total funds stolen in H1 2025.
The research also points to an evolving landscape where crypto hacks are used as a covert tool in geopolitical conflicts. An example cited is the June 18 hack of Iran’s largest crypto exchange, Nobitex, for over $90 million by a group linked to Israel. In a clear political statement, the attackers transferred the stolen funds to deliberately unspendable addresses, indicating their motive was symbolic disruption, not financial gain.
Infrastructure attacks — such as the theft of private keys and seed phrases — were the most damaging, accounting for over 80% of all stolen funds. It is worth stating that it is quite impractical for this report to effectively cover the individually insignificant losses of individuals, which often are not even reported to authorities.
On the other hand, $9.32 billion in scam proceeds were moved through cryptocurrency in 2024 — based solely on the FBI's report, which draws from complaints submitted to the IC3 in over 200 countries. This suggests many crypto scams likely went unreported. Without such reports, one might wrongly assume that hacks account for more losses than scams in crypto.
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