Cryptocurrency investors have lost $2.1 billion U.S. to hacks, thefts and scams in this year’s first half, the worst six-month period on record for security of digital assets.
A new report from TRM Labs found that there have been 75 major incidents related to cryptocurrencies reported in the first six months of 2025.
That topped the previous first half record from 2022 by about 10% and nearly matched the amount of crypto assets stolen in all of 2024.
TRM Labs blames the rise in crypto thefts on North Korea intensifying its cyber attacks in the cryptocurrency space.
Researchers say North Korean-linked groups are responsible for $1.6 billion U.S., or 70% of all the stolen funds from digital assets this year.
The biggest hack that occurred in this year’s first half was the $1.5 billion U.S. Bybit hack that took place in February.
The Bybit attack is widely viewed as the largest crypto theft in history and is believed to have been perpetrated by North Korea.
Another big crypto incident occurred on June 18 when an Israeli group called “Predatory Sparrow” stole $90 million U.S. from Iranian exchange Nobitex.
TRM Labs says that crypto hacks and cyber attacks by nation states are growing and evolving quickly and pose the biggest threat to investments related to digital assets.
Additionally, more than 80% of the crypto funds stolen in this year’s first half stemmed from infrastructure-level breaches, including private key thefts and front-end hijacks.
DeFi vulnerabilities, including flash loan attacks, which were widely used in 2021-22, now account for a relatively small percentage of overall losses at 12%.
Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is currently trading at $107,000 U.S., having risen 15% this year.
