Crypto hackers steal record $2.7 billion in 2025, led by massive Bybit breach

Cybercriminals wiped out $2.7 billion in crypto in 2025, a new record for crypto-stealing hacks, according to blockchain-monitoring firms.

In 2025, cryptocurrency heists continued, with dozens of attacks targeting various crypto exchanges, Web3, and Decentralized Finance (DeFi) projects. The most significant breach on record occurred at the Dubai-based crypto exchange Bybit, where hackers stole approximately $1.4 billion in digital assets.

This massive theft, which blockchain analysis firms and the FBI have attributed to North Korean government hackers, the most active group in recent years, represents the largest known crypto heist of all time and one of the biggest financial robberies in human history.

Before the Bybit incident, the largest crypto thefts were the $624 million hack of the Ronin Network and the $611 million hack of the Poly Network, both in 2022.

Cryptocurrency monitoring firms Chainalysis and TRM Labs both assessed a total of $2.7 billion stolen in crypto in 2025. Chainalysis also tracked another $700,000 stolen from individual crypto wallets, the company said.

The Web3 security firm running the REKT database, which tracks crypto thefts, also estimated $2.7 billion in looted and hacked crypto in 2025.

Throughout 2025, North Korean government hackers maintained their position as the most prolific crypto thieves, reportedly stealing at least $2 billion. This is according to estimates by Chainalysis and Elliptic, which suggest that the country’s hackers, allegedly controlled by Kim Jong Un, have stolen roughly $6 billion in cryptocurrency since 2017. These crypto thefts are used by North Korea to finance its nuclear weapons program, which is subject to international sanctions.

Other influential crypto hacks this year included the one against Cetus, a decentralized exchange, which earned the hackers $223 million; the breach against Balancer, a protocol built on the Ethereum blockchain, which resulted in a loss of $128 million; and the one against the crypto exchange Phemex, where cybercriminals stole more than $73 million.

The relentless pace of cyberattacks on crypto exchanges and decentralized finance (DeFi) projects shows no sign of slowing. Cybercriminals pilfered $2.2 billion in crypto throughout 2024, an increase from the $2 billion stolen in the preceding year, 2023.