DUBAI — Global cryptocurrency hacks resulted in $2.78 billion in losses during 2025, according to Finbold's full-year Cryptocurrency Market Report, based on data from blockchain security firm SlowMist.
Losses were heavily front-loaded. More than 60% of the total value stolen occurred in the first half of the year, with Q1 alone accounting for $1.78 billion, as attackers exploited weak operational security and contract vulnerabilities. By contrast, hack-related losses slowed markedly into Q4, totaling approximately $227 million, the lowest quarterly figure of the year.
The single largest incident occurred at Bybit, where stolen wallet credentials resulted in $1.5 billion in losses, making it the biggest crypto hack of 2025. Other major breaches included Cetus Protocol ($230 million) and Balancer V2 ($121 million), underscoring the continued risks tied to smart contract design and business logic flaws.
"2025 showed that the biggest losses happen when infrastructure scales faster than security practices," said Jordan Major, Senior Editor at Finbold. "The sharp slowdown in Q4 suggests that better controls and monitoring are starting to make a measurable difference."
Finbold also noted a shift in attack patterns over the year, with wallet compromises dominating total losses, while contract exploits became smaller but more frequent.
"The data suggests the industry is learning the hard lessons of previous cycles," added Diana Paluteder, Head of Content at Finbold. "While hacks remain a structural risk, the decline in losses toward year-end points to improved resilience across exchanges and protocols."
The findings are part of Finbold's 2025 Cryptocurrency Market Report, which examines security trends, institutional activity, and on-chain data across the full calendar year.