The crypto industry is facing a security crisis in 2025. In just the first half of the year, hackers have stolen over $2.1 billion across 75 incidents, according to a new report from TRM Labs, marking a 50% increase from previous years.
TRM Labs highlighted that infrastructure attacks—including private key thefts, seed phrase breaches, and front-end hijacks—accounted for over 80% of the stolen funds. These attacks were often ten times larger than other exploit types and typically enabled by social engineering or insider access.
“These breaches expose critical weaknesses at the foundation of cryptosecurity,” said TRM Labs.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has been linked to a staggering $1.6 billion in stolen crypto this year—about 70% of the total. The largest hack was reportedly on Bybit, a Dubai-based exchange, pushing the average hack size to $30 million in 2025, double the $15 million average in 2024.
North Korea continues to exploit crypto markets to evade international sanctions, making it one of the most dangerous state actors in the digital asset space.
In another shocking case, Nobitex, an Iranian exchange, lost $100 million in crypto during a coordinated attack in June 2025. Investigations revealed that the hack was led by Israeli cybercriminal Gonjeshke Darande, highlighting how geopolitical tensions are now directly impacting crypto security.
TRM Labs outlined several key steps to combat these growing threats:
With crypto hacks becoming more frequent and severe, platforms must act quickly. From wallet breaches to exchange exploits, the global crypto ecosystem is under pressure. As high-stakes actors like North Korea and Israel-based groups intensify their attacks, implementing robust security frameworks is no longer optional—it’s essential.
North Korea orchestrates large-scale thefts using sophisticated phishing, social engineering (e.g., fake job offers, deepfake Zoom calls), supply chain compromises, and private key thefts. They primarily use stolen funds to evade international sanctions and finance their illicit weapons programs, including nuclear and ballistic missile development.
Hackers are primarily exploiting critical infrastructure weaknesses, including stolen private keys, compromised seed phrases, and front-end hijacks. They also target DeFi smart contracts through vulnerabilities like re-entrancy exploits and flash loan manipulations.
Crypto companies are responding by reinforcing fundamental security measures like multi-factor authentication (MFA), cold storage for funds, regular security audits, and implementing insider threat detection systems. They are also improving social engineering countermeasures and engaging in international collaboration with law enforcement to track and disrupt these networks.
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