Bitcoin News Today: "Social Engineering & Multi-Chain Attacks Drive 15% Crypto Hack Spike in August"

August 2025 saw a 15% increase in crypto hacks compared to the previous month, with $163 million in assets lost across 16 major incidents. PeckShield, a blockchain security firm, reported these figures, which reflect a growing trend of targeted attacks on exchanges, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, and individual users. The most notable incident involved a single Bitcoin holder who lost $91.4 million in a sophisticated social engineering attack. Attackers impersonated support agents from a hardware wallet provider and convinced the victim to disclose sensitive information. The funds were swiftly laundered through Wasabi Wallet, a privacy tool known for obscuring transaction trails. This attack mirrors the $243 million Genesis creditor theft from the previous year, underscoring the persistent threat of social engineering in the crypto space [1].

Turkish exchange BtcTurk also suffered a major breach, losing $54 million in a multi-chain attack that compromised hot wallets on Ethereum, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Base, Optimism, Mantle, and Polygon. This marks the second major incident for BtcTurk within 14 months, pushing its total losses past $100 million. The attack involved a coordinated effort that saw stolen assets consolidated into two primary wallets before being swapped for Ethereum through decentralized exchanges. The exchange suspended all cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals in response, though it refrained from using the word "hack," instead referring to the event as "technical difficulties." Cyvers, a security firm, detected suspicious transactions approximately 30 minutes after the initial breach [1].

Smaller-scale incidents also contributed to the overall losses in August. ODIN•FUN lost $7 million, BetterBank.io reported $5 million in stolen assets, and CrediX Finance suffered a $4.5 million exploit before its development team disappeared. The CrediX case is particularly concerning, as hackers initially agreed to return the funds but later transferred them to the Tornado Cash mixing service. The incident appears to be an exit scam, raising questions about the trustworthiness of DeFi projects and the importance of due diligence for investors [1].

The broader crypto security landscape remains precarious, with Chainalysis reporting that over $2.17 billion in crypto assets have been stolen since January 2025. The rising price of Bitcoin, which has exceeded $120,000, has incentivized more criminal activity, as the volume of wealth in the space has grown substantially. Rishi Baviskar, global head of cyber risk consulting at Allianz, notes that the decentralized and anonymous nature of blockchain transactions makes recovering stolen funds extremely difficult, creating an attractive risk-reward profile for cybercriminals [2].

Experts recommend a multi-layered security approach to mitigate these risks. Jim Reavis, co-founder of the Cloud Security Alliance, advises users to store large amounts of cryptocurrency in cold wallets, such as hardware devices from Ledger or Trezor, which offer offline key storage. These solutions reduce exposure to online threats, though they require some technical knowledge. For those less inclined to handle self-custody, investing in regulated crypto ETFs through brokerages like Fidelity or Robinhood is another option. These products allow investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum without the need to manage private keys directly [2].

Despite these recommendations, vulnerabilities persist in the exchange sector. A May 2025 data breach at Coinbase exposed personal information belonging to tens of thousands of users after hackers deceived customer service agents into sharing confidential records. This highlights the need for improved incident response protocols and stricter internal controls to prevent insider threats. Address poisoning attacks and phishing scams are also on the rise, with scammers using lookalike wallet addresses to deceive users and malware-laden websites to compromise private keys [2].

As the crypto space continues to mature, understanding historical breaches is essential for both developers and investors. High-profile hacks such as the 2014 Mt. Gox collapse, the 2018 Coincheck breach, and the 2025 Bybit theft illustrate the evolving tactics of cybercriminals and the growing involvement of state-sponsored actors. The Bybit incident, attributed to North Korean hackers, marked the largest crypto theft in history and demonstrated the strategic use of digital assets by geopolitical actors [3].

Source:

[1] Crypto Hacks Jump 15% in August (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/crypto-hacks-jump-15-august-083019022.html)

[2] Crypto Hacks Are Rising: Here's How To Safeguard Your (https://www.forbes.com/sites/juliegoldenberg/2025/08/29/crypto-hacks-are-rising-heres-how-to-safeguard-your-digital-assets/)

[3] Crypto Hacks Timeline (https://onekey.so/blog/ecosystem/crypto-hacks-timeline/)