In the first half of 2025, the cryptocurrency industry experienced a significant increase in security violations, resulting in total loss of $ 2.1 billion. This period was marked by 75 hacks reported, making it the worst six -month section for the security of cryptography on the file. The most notable incident was the $ 1.5 billion attack on Bybit, an exchange based in Dubai, which represented almost 70% of total losses. This unique event has not only set a new record for the greatest cryptography hacking, but also doubled the average hacking in $ 30 million compared to the first half of 2024.
The trend of climbing cryptographic flights is not isolated from this event. Each month, with the exception of March, saw losses over $ 100 million, indicating a sustained and wide threat to the cryptography sector. The hacking of Bybit, attributed to the North Korean pirates, underlined the growing role of the actors sponsored by the State in the cryptographic flight. North Korea is tried behind $ 1.6 billion in the total of $ 2.1 billion, making it the most prolific nation-state opponent in cryptographic space. These stolen funds are believed to support the escape of sanctions and strategic programs, including the development of nuclear weapons, highlighting the geopolitical implications of cryptographic flight.
The cryptographic flight landscape is evolving. On June 18, a cyber-group linked to Israel would have violated Iran’s greatest exchange, Nobitex, flying more than $ 90 million. Unlike traditional robberies, stolen assets have been transferred to indisputable “vanity” addresses, suggesting symbolic or political motivations rather than a financial gain. This incident highlights wider geopolitical tensions playing in the world of cryptography.
Violations in terms of infrastructure dominated the landscape of threats, representing more than 80% of stolen funds. These attacks, which include private keys, frontal exploits and compromise access points, are generally with high impact and often helped by social engineering or access to initiates. Protocol exploits, such as flash loans and reversal attacks, represented 12% of losses, highlighting persistent vulnerabilities in decentralized intelligent finance contracts (DEFI).
The growing scale and the sophistication of these attacks, in particular those involving actors in the nation state, have increased the challenges of cryptographic cybersecurity. Traditional defenses are no longer sufficient, and experts call for robust and multilayer protections, including multi-factory authentication (MFA), cold storage and continuous audits. In addition, there is an increasing need for detecting threats of initiates and countermeasures against social engineering. The global collaboration between the police, financial intelligence units and companies specializing in the security of cryptography is also crucial.
As the crypto is growing more and more with national security, the first half of 2025 serves a clear warning: digital assets are now targets in geopolitical conflicts, and defending them requires a unified global response. The cryptographic industry must adapt to this new reality, implementing stronger security measures and promoting international cooperation to protect itself against future threats.
