XRP News Today: Crypto Theft Surpasses $3.1B in H1 2025, Exceeding 2024 Full-Year Total

The crypto industry has suffered unprecedented losses from scams and cyberattacks in the first half of 2025, with total thefts exceeding $3.1 billion, according to mid-year reports from cybersecurity firms and industry analysts. This figure already surpasses the full-year 2024 total of $4.2 billion in losses, signaling a sharp acceleration in malicious activity [1]. Hacken’s Web3 security report highlights that access control failures account for nearly $1.83 billion of the damage, with multisig wallet vulnerabilities alone responsible for $2 billion in breaches [2].

The largest incident of the year was the February Bybit exploit, where a compromised signer allowed attackers to siphon $1.46 billion in assets. This was followed by a series of high-profile breaches, including a $50 million theft from the Infini protocol by a former developer, a $5 million exploit targeting zkSync’s flawed multisig setup, and a $90 million politically motivated attack on Iran’s Nobitex exchange [1]. DeFi platforms faced additional losses due to smart contract bugs, with the May Cetus exploit draining $223 million from a critical liquidity vulnerability [1].

Phishing scams have also surged, netting $600 million in stolen funds—a record for the industry. A single elderly U.S. investor lost $330 million in Bitcoin after falling for a sophisticated social engineering scheme, while Coinbase users were targeted with fake support scams that leveraged stolen customer data to steal over $100 million. Attackers exploited malicious browser extensions, cloned dApps, and fake wallet apps to automate fund siphoning [1].

AI-related attacks saw a 1,000% increase compared to 2023, with insecure APIs and prompt injection techniques enabling bypasses of security protocols. Hacken attributed this rise to the integration of AI tools in both defensive and offensive strategies, creating new vulnerabilities [1]. Meanwhile, third-party reports from The Economic Times and CCN.com cite scam-related losses at $2.1 billion year-to-date, reflecting differing methodologies in tracking fraud but underscoring a broader crisis of trust [3][4].

The surge in fraud aligns with Binance’s 2024 data, which recorded $14.5 billion in global crypto scams—a 23% jump from 2023 [5]. Experts warn that “zombie” DeFi apps, abandoned platforms reactivated by hackers, are increasingly exploited to drain user funds. Ripple’s recent alert highlighted a 50% rise in XRP-related scams compared to 2024, while Chainalysis noted that deepfake AI attacks alone cost $12.4 billion in 2024 [4][8][9].

Industry responses emphasize the need for tighter wallet infrastructure and regulatory oversight. Hacken’s report calls for improved access control mechanisms and real-time monitoring of smart contracts [1]. However, balancing innovation with security remains a challenge, particularly as the sector’s market capitalization remains volatile. Recovery services are emerging to assist victims, but prevention through technical audits and user education is increasingly critical [1].

Source:

[1] [Hacken 2025 Mid-Year Web3 Security Report](https://crypto.news/how-much-has-the-crypto-industry-lost-to-scams-so-far-in-2025/)

[2] [Multisig Failures Dominate as $2B Is Lost in Web3 Hacks](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/07/24/multisig-failures-dominate-as-usd2b-is-lost-in-web3-hacks-in-the-first-half)

[3] [$2.1 Billion Lost to Crypto Scams in 2025](https://m.economictimes.com/news/international/us/xrp-price-prediction-todays-10-crash-shakes-investors-is-something-bigger-unfolding-beneath-the-surface-heres-what-ripples-ceo-urgently-warns/articleshow/122882497.cms)

[4] [Ripple Issues Red Alert as XRP Scams Resurface](https://www.ccn.com/news/crypto/ripple-red-alert-xrp-scam-brad-garlinghouse/)

[5] [CryptoScamSurge 2025 Data](https://www.binance.com/en/square/post/27364217476546)

[9] [Crypto’s ‘Trust’ Problem](https://www.cybersecurityintelligence.com/blog/cryptos-trust-problem-8563.html)