Imagine you open your crypto app, maybe to check a balance or move funds, and suddenly everything is gone. For many people and companies in crypto this year, that feeling became reality. As digital assets went more mainstream in 2025, hackers followed the money, and they followed it aggressively.
That’s the backdrop to a grim new record. Blockchain security firms now estimate that more than $2.7 billion worth of crypto was stolen in 2025, making it the worst year on record for crypto-related hacks and thefts.
Data from firms like Chainalysis, TRM Labs, Elliptic, and De.Fi, all point to the same conclusion. Hackers drained exchanges, DeFi protocols, and individual wallets at a scale never seen before. While crypto prices moved up and down throughout the year, one thing stayed consistent: attackers kept finding weak points in systems holding billions of dollars.
The single biggest incident came from Dubai-based exchange Bybit, where hackers made off with roughly $1.4 billion in crypto in one attack. That breach alone accounted for more than half of all stolen funds this year. US authorities and blockchain investigators later linked the attack to North Korean state-backed hacking groups, which have become the most dominant and dangerous actors in crypto crime.
This Bybit breach now stands as the largest known crypto theft ever, surpassing earlier infamous hacks like the Ronin Network and Poly Network attacks from 2022.
North Korean hacking groups were responsible for an estimated $2 billion of the total stolen in 2025. These groups aren’t random criminals. They’re often well-resourced, patient, and highly organised, often targeting exchanges and DeFi protocols with months of preparation.
Investigators say the stolen funds help finance North Korea’s sanctioned weapons and nuclear programmes, which is why crypto crime has become a geopolitical issue, not just a tech or finance problem. Since 2017, North Korean hackers have been believed to have stolen around $6 billion in crypto globally, and 2025 was their most successful year yet.
While Bybit dominated headlines, it was far from the only target. Several major DeFi projects were also hit hard. The decentralized exchange Cetus lost around $223 million, while Balancer, a protocol built on Ethereum, suffered losses of about $128 million. Another exchange, Phemex, saw more than $73 million stolen.
Beyond large platforms, everyday users were affected too. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were stolen directly from individual wallets through phishing, fake apps, and compromised private keys. These smaller losses rarely make headlines, but together they add up and damage trust just as much.
What makes 2025 stand out isn’t just the total amount stolen, but the clear upward trend. In 2023, hackers stole roughly $2 billion in crypto. That number rose to about $2.2 billion in 2024. In 2025, it jumped again to $2.7 billion, even as the industry claimed it was improving security.
The pattern suggests that while security tools are improving, attackers are adapting faster. As more money flows into crypto, the rewards for successful hacks keep growing, making the sector an attractive target for sophisticated cybercrime groups.
Crypto likes to talk about the future of finance, but 2025 exposed how fragile parts of that future still are. Many hacks didn’t rely on groundbreaking new techniques. They exploited poor key management, flawed smart contracts, or simple human mistakes. In other words, the basics are still not fully solved.
Regulators around the world are watching closely. Massive thefts make it harder for governments to trust crypto markets and easier for them to justify stricter rules. At the same time, exchanges and DeFi platforms are under pressure to prove they can protect user funds at a scale comparable to traditional finance.
