Hackers have already stolen over $2 billion in cryptocurrencies in 2025

• Private key theft leads cryptocurrency losses
• Front-end exploits account for 80% of attacks
• North Korea linked to $1,6 billion in theft

More than $2,1 billion worth of cryptocurrencies were stolen in the first half of 2025, according to report published by TRM Labs. The survey indicates that around 80% of this amount originated from infrastructure breaches, including front-end hijackings, private key theft and seed phrase leaks.

According to a report by @CertiK , the web3 security expert.

𝙎𝙤 𝙛𝙖𝙧 𝙞𝙣 2025,𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 2.1 𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙐𝙎𝘿 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝘾𝙧𝙮𝙥𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙒𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙥 𝙖… pic.twitter.com/XiExabBE2r

— YHK🌟 (@yorubahoekage) June 26, 2025

According to TRM, these types of attacks stood out not only for their frequency but also for their severity. The losses generated by this type of exploit were, on average, ten times greater than those caused by flaws in smart contracts. Techniques such as flash loans and reentrancy attacks accounted for approximately 12% of the losses, reinforcing the fragility of several DeFi protocols.

The total recorded is already on par with the figures for the entire year of 2024 and is approximately 10% higher than the data for the first half of 2022. One of the main incidents was the attack suffered by Bybit in February, estimated at US$1,5 billion. According to TRM, this attack was attributed to North Korean actors, and raised the average damage per incident to US$30 million — double the average recorded in the previous year.

North Korea is the main player, accounting for approximately US$1,6 billion of the embezzled funds, or 70% of the global total. The report points out that such activities finance the regime's weapons programs. Another case cited involves the Iranian brokerage firm Nobitex, which was the target of a breach carried out by the Israeli group Gonjeshke Darande, resulting in the loss of US$90 million during a period of intense geopolitical tension.

TRM Labs recommended enhanced security measures, including multi-factor authentication, increased use of cold storage, and strengthening internal controls. The firm also highlighted the importance of collaboration among crypto industry participants to contain threats.

“The path forward requires multifaceted collaboration,” the report states. “The records thefts of the first half of 2025 are a powerful call to action for a collective, sustained, and strategically aligned security posture—one prepared not only for crime, but also for covert acts of public policy.”