Crypto Scams have become a nightmare for investors over the past few years. This is indeed an alarming sign, and now, a Chainalysis report shows that more than $2.17 billion in cryptocurrency was stolen from services and wallets during the first six months of 2025. This loss exceeds all the losses made to date in 2024 and represents a 17% increase compared to 2022, which was previously the worst year on record for stolen digital assets.
A recent surge in theft has been a side effect of both advanced hacking of centralized exchanges and increased attacks on personal wallets. According to Chainalysis, if current trends persist, stolen funds could surpass $4 billion by the end of the year.
A single breach on crypto exchange Bybit accounts for nearly 70% of all crypto stolen in 2025. North Korean hackers allegedly carried out the $1.5 billion attack, making it the largest theft in cryptocurrency history. According to the FBI, the stolen funds were laundered and channeled into the North Korean regime.
Chainalysis reported that this attack fits within a growing trend of state-sponsored thefts by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). These operations have become integral to the country's efforts to bypass international sanctions and fund its nuclear weapons program. The hackers used advanced social engineering tactics to infiltrate Bybit, including the employment of compromised IT personnel.
Earlier data from Chainalysis showed that DPRK-linked groups were responsible for nearly two-thirds of all crypto hacks in 2024. The escalation in 2025 further underscores North Korea’s growing reliance on digital asset theft as a financial strategy.
Attacks on individual wallet holders have also surged in 2025. Chainalysis estimates that personal wallet compromises now account for 23.35% of all stolen funds activity this year. These incidents include not only online attacks but also physical coercion tactics, known as “wrench attacks,” where victims are forced under threat to surrender access to their funds.
The report noted a correlation between the frequency of such attacks and the price of Bitcoin. As prices rise, criminals appear to be targeting known holders of high-value wallets more frequently. The U.S., Germany, Russia, and Japan reported the highest number of individual victims. Meanwhile, the UAE, India, and Chile registered some of the highest average losses per victim.
The Chainalysis report also revealed that wallet-targeting thieves often leave large sums on-chain instead of laundering them immediately. In total, $8.5 billion in stolen assets remain unmoved in attacker-controlled personal wallets.
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The differences in laundering behavior related to service and personal wallet thefts highlight the evolving tactics of threat actors. Exchange hackers tend to use mixers and bridges, whereas wallet attackers work more closely with smart contracts or centralized exchanges.
Despite advances in laundering methods, Chainalysis noted that actors involved in stolen funds consistently overpay in transaction fees. In 2025, criminals paid 14.5 times the average on-chain cost to move stolen assets, prioritizing speed over efficiency.
Law enforcement agencies and blockchain investigators still monitor these activities. Chainalysis tools were used to help authorities in the Philippines trace ransom payments tied to the kidnapping and killing of a local CEO in one recent case. After tracking the on-chain activities, the authorities were able to freeze part of the stolen USDT.