The year 2025 is already shaping up to be disastrous in terms of the number of crypto hacks, with a total estimated amount of over $3.4 billion. This criminal activity is benefiting North Korea, with a 51% increase in profits during this period.
2025: worst year for crypto hacks with $3.4 billion stolen
As the cryptocurrency sector opens up to new horizons such as traditional finance, the issue of its effective security is becoming an increasingly important challenge in order to protect its holders and users, particularly in the face of recurring attacks targeting its ecosystem.
The situation got off to a very bad start in 2025, following the hack of the Bybit cryptocurrency exchange platform last February, which resulted in a record estimated loss of $1.5 billion and immediately weighed on the balance sheet, now estimated at more than $3.4 billion in total according to experts at Chainalysis.
As a result, “the ratio between the largest hack and the median of all incidents exceeded the 1,000× threshold for the first time” in December, surpassing the peak recorded during the 2021 bull market with three attacks that alone accounted for 69% of all losses recorded.
However, these impressive figures should not obscure another, more worrying reality, which is that the security of personal wallets is one of the key factors to consider in the context of targeted attacks on the crypto ecosystem.
Beyond the headline figure, the data shows significant changes in the composition of these thefts. Compromises of personal wallets have risen sharply, from just 7.3% of the total value stolen in 2022 to 44% in 2024. In 2025, this share would have been 37% without the disproportionate impact of the attack on Bybit. Chainalysis
North Korea: the crypto ecosystem’s worst enemyFaced with a significant increase in the amounts stolen, North Korea (DPKR, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) undoubtedly appears to be one of the most active entities, with a 51% increase over one year, now totaling a record $2 billion.
A catastrophic outcome, according to Chainalysis experts, who point to “the worst year ever for crypto theft attributed to the DPRK in terms of value stolen (…) with a record 76% of all service compromises,” despite a significant decrease in the frequency of attacks.
This is also an opportunity to mention the problem of the ever-increasing—and largely underestimated—infiltration of North Korean agents into leading technology companies and crypto projects “in order to gain privileged access and enable high-impact compromises.”
Reassuringly for individual users, it appears that North Korean hackers are focusing solely on high-potential attacks targeting important structures. Nevertheless, the number of incidents remains high, with attacks “targeting more users but stealing smaller amounts per victim.”
