Crypto Losses Surge 125% in 2025 First Half, $2.47 Billion Stolen

Crypto investors faced significant losses in the first half of 2025, with a total of $2.47 billion stolen across 344 incidents. This figure surpasses the total losses recorded for the entire year of 2024, highlighting a growing trend in cyber threats within the crypto space. The report, titled “Hack3d: Web3 Security Report for Q2 + H1 2025,” revealed that wallet breaches and phishing attacks were the primary causes of these losses. Wallet-related breaches alone accounted for $1.7 billion across just 34 attacks, while phishing scams resulted in over $410 million stolen in 132 incidents.

The report noted that two major incidents, involving Bybit and Cetus Protocol, significantly skewed the data. The Bybit hack in February resulted in the theft of over $1.5 billion in liquid-staked ETH and MegaETH, making it the largest exploit of the year so far. Cetus Protocol, a decentralized exchange on Sui, lost about $225 million due to a smart contract flaw in May. These two incidents combined accounted for approximately $1.78 billion of the total losses, pushing the year’s figures above those of 2024. Removing these two cases brings the total to $690 million, which is more in line with previous years' losses.

Ethereum remained the most targeted blockchain, experiencing 175 security events and over $1.6 billion in losses. The report also highlighted an alarming trend in wallet breaches, although private key compromises, a top concern in 2024, showed signs of decline. The average amount lost per incident stood at over $7.1 million, while the median loss was just under $90,000. Phishing attacks, particularly in the second quarter, were noted for their increasing sophistication and deceptiveness. Users were urged to be cautious, double-check URLs, avoid suspicious links, and use hardware wallets for storage.

Despite the scale of attacks, some funds were recovered. The report indicated that $187 million was returned to victims through law enforcement action, whitehat efforts, and exchange cooperation. This brings the net loss for the first half of the year to around $2.29 billion. The report also noted a rise in losses due to code vulnerabilities in May, with flawed smart contracts causing $229 million in damages, a significant jump from just $5 million in April. As the tokenization of financial systems accelerates, so too do the methods of attack, the report warned.

Despite the headline figure, the second quarter saw a decline in losses, with $801 million lost—down 52% from Q1. Most of the attacks targeted Ethereum, which saw $1.5 billion drained across 164 cases, followed by Bitcoin with $373 million stolen in just 10 incidents. Co-founder Ronghui Gu emphasized that while the scale of theft is concerning, much of the total stems from a few high-profile attacks. Still, he warned the industry must remain vigilant as security challenges persist.

The second half of 2025 may test whether recovery efforts can keep up with the rising tide of exploits. As crypto scams and hacks rise, so do violent crimes targeting private holders. At least 32 physical attacks, known as “wrench attacks,” have been reported globally this year, putting 2025 on pace to surpass 2021’s record of 36. Criminals have also begun targeting families, prompting increased demand for private protection services.