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According to blockchain security company PeckShield, the cryptocurrency industry lost $163 million to hacking in August 2025. The report states that hacks have grown 15% since July, with 16 large-scale attacks on investors, protocols, and exchanges.
The largest individual loss of the month was a $91 million Bitcoin theft. The increased number of coordinated attacks indicates the escalation of threats to platforms and users, even though more security measures are implemented throughout the industry.
PeckShield verified that the $91 million stolen was directed to a long-term Bitcoin owner. The attacker accessed the investor's wallet and obtained the keys to large sums of BTC. This hack was the most expensive single crypto theft of August.
BtcTurk, a large exchange in Turkey, reported a separate breach with losses of between $48 million and $54 million. The attack was on hot-wallet infrastructure. This, combined with a June breach of $54 million, makes BtcTurk's losses total over $100 million.
Other breaches saw ODIN•FUN, BetterBank.io, and CrediX Finance (a Sonic blockchain-based company) lose $7 million, $5 million, and $4.5 million, respectively. All the incidents were illegal fund transfers related to an access weakness.
The mid-year analysis of PeckShield revealed that the average exploit value in 2025 increased to $7.18 million, compared to $3.1 million in 2024. Most of the losses identified in the report are linked to access control failure, including stolen personal keys and unsecured smart contract approvals.
23% of attacks involved social engineering techniques. Hackers often disguise themselves as trusted parties to manipulate users and override security controls. Tracking has proved non-productive, and only 78% of the money stolen is recovered. Other attacks have been attributed to state-sponsored groups such as the Lazarus Group of North Korea. ‘
