Crypto Hacks Surge 3% to $2.47 Billion in 2025 First Half

Losses from crypto hacks, scams, and exploits surged to $2.47 billion in the first half of 2025. The overall number is up nearly 3% from the $2.4 billion recorded in all of 2024. Just over $800 million was lost in the second quarter across 144 incidents—a 52% drop in value and 59 fewer incidents compared to the previous quarter. Adjusting for recoveries of more than $187 million in the first six months, the net loss figure stands closer to $2.2 billion.

As privacy concerns mount and attack vectors evolve, tools aimed at safeguarding user anonymity are gaining traction. We spoke with Seth for Privacy, Vice President at Cake Wallet, to understand the growing concerns in the broader crypto community around the breaches and the possible solutions that can be deployed.

Security incidents in Web3 continue to cost hundreds of millions each quarter. The first half of the year saw some major breaches. In Seth's opinion, the two biggest causes by far are users trusting custodians with their crypto, with very few security incidents involving users who take custody of their own keys. Those few incidents that do involve self-custody are almost always caused by users either flaunting their wealth on social media or having their information stolen from centralized exchanges in breaches of Know-Your-Customer (“KYC”) data.

The crypto community has also seen a wave of adoption globally. Seth believes that such breaches can impact the broader market adoption of Web3, as the risks that come with the “Wild West” of crypto will certainly scare some people off the concept in general. However, this Wild West nature cuts both ways, as it’s also empowering millions of individuals to have more financial freedom than ever before.

When asked about emerging threats, Seth expressed concern about physical attacks against high-profile individuals and those affected by KYC database leaks, as they seem to be drastically increasing in number. The norm enforced by the state of every crypto user having to submit all of their personal information, photos, and videos of themselves, and much more, just to buy and sell crypto is incredibly dangerous, and that danger is starting to become a reality for people across the globe.

To tackle these growing challenges, Seth emphasized the importance of taking custody of your own keys, avoiding giving over personal information to centralized exchanges whenever possible to avoid being affected by KYC data breaches, and not talking publicly about your crypto holdings or usage, especially on social media.

Silent Payments and PayJoin help ensure security by protecting users against surveillance when making everyday payments or accepting donations with Bitcoin, ensuring that the merchant they buy coffee from or the snooping bad actor can’t easily see how much Bitcoin they hold at a glance. Combining off-chain privacy with on-chain privacy protects users from all but the most advanced threats.

The biggest update planned right now for Cake Wallet is much broader and drastically improved hardware wallet support, allowing users to gain even stronger security for their crypto while still being able to enjoy the ease of use and privacy features in Cake Wallet on the go. This brings the best of both worlds to the user, and Cake Wallet is excited to roll out improved hardware wallet support over the coming weeks and months.