Cryptopresales, a cryptocurrency data website tracking 18,896 cryptocurrencies trading on 402 exchanges, says 2025 is shaping up to be a record year for criminal theft affecting the asset class.
It said that crypto thieves have stolen $1.93bn year-to-date to 6 June, 10% more than in the entire 2024, and 55% of 2022's total, still the record year for crypto crime.
The increase in crypto crime is a concern given tightened rules and enhanced blockchain tracking tools over the past two years. Last year, crypto scammers and hackers stole $1.73bn in 187 crypto heists, a modest decrease from $1.74bn the year before.
But now the trend is for the value stolen rising even as the number of attacks is falling, Cryptopresales stated. Citing Comparitech data, which tracks crypto-related crime, it pointed to 53 reported cases over the past six months, three times less than in the entire 2024. However, the total amount of stolen money during this period has already outpaced 2024's total. Nearly 90% of that value was stolen in just one scam. In February, Dubai-based centralized exchange Bybit was hit by an attack that stole record-breaking $1.46bn from its ETH cold wallets. The attack, rumored to have been carried out by North Korea's Lazarus Group, is the largest crypto crime on record.
"Even more worrying is that if this trend continues, 2025 could easily become the worst year for crypto crime yet and break the infamous record set in 2022. That year alone, crypto criminals stole a shocking $3.45bn," Cryptopresales stated.
To date, toal crypto themfts are listed as $14.7bn across 1,072 reported heists. And nearly 80% of all losses, or around $11.6bn, happened in the last five years. Worse, if hackers had kept all the stolen cryptos and cashed them out today, they would have a fortune worth $52.7bn.
