Chainalysis Shock Report: 2025 Set to Break All Records for Crypto Thefts

Crypto's wild west just got wilder. Chainalysis data reveals 2025 is shaping up to be the most devastating year for digital asset theft in history—and we're barely past the halfway mark.

Hackers are outpacing security teams

While traditional finance still struggles with check fraud, crypto criminals are deploying sophisticated smart contract exploits and bridge attacks that make old-school bank heists look quaint. The numbers don't lie—this year's theft volumes are already screaming past previous annual totals.

Security or speculation? The billion-dollar question

Some 'investors' seem more concerned about mooning token prices than protecting their wallets. Maybe they're hoping the thieves will at least HODL their stolen assets for long-term capital gains. In crypto, even crime gets financialized.

Crypto Crime Hits New Heights in 2025 

In their latest 2025 Crypto Crime Mid-year Update, Chainalysis stressed that with still nearly half a year left to go, 2025 has already proven worse than the entire 2024. 

“Stolen fund activity stands out as the dominant concern in 2025. While other forms of illicit activity have shown mixed trends YoY, the surge in cryptocurrency thefts represents both an immediate threat to ecosystem participants and a long-term challenge for the industry’s security infrastructure,” the report reads

The blockchain data platform revealed that 2022 remains the worst year on record in terms of the total value stolen from services. However, it took 214 days to accumulate $2 billion in stolen funds.

In stark contrast, 2025 reached similar levels in just 142 days. By the end of June 2025, the value stolen year-to-date (YTD) was 17% higher than in 2022. 

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Chainalysis predicted that if current trends continue, stolen funds from crypto services alone could exceed $4.3 billion by the end of the year, posing a significant threat to the security and trust within the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Nonetheless, the report pointed out that the most significant incident driving this surge is the $1.5 billion Bybit hack, attributed to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. This single breach accounted for approximately 69% of all funds stolen from services in 2025. 

“This mega-breach fits within a broader pattern of North Korean cryptocurrency operations, which have become increasingly central to the regime’s sanctions evasion strategies. Last year, known DPRK-related losses totaled $1.3 billion (heretofore the worst year on record), making 2025 already by far their most successful year to date,” Chainalysis noted.

Crypto Theft Trends Highlight Rising Risks for Individuals 

Beyond large-scale breaches, attackers shifted their focus to individual users this year. Personal wallet compromises made up 23.35% of total stolen funds year-to-date. Chainalysis observed three key trends in these breaches. 

Firstly, Bitcoin theft accounts for a large share of stolen value. Secondly, the average loss from compromised Bitcoin wallets has grown over time, suggesting that attackers are targeting higher-value holdings. Thirdly, there has been an increase in the number of victims on non-Bitcoin and non-EVM chains like Solana. 

The report suggested that while bitcoin holders are less likely to be targeted compared to other on-chain asset holders, when they do fall victim, the losses tend to be more significant. 

This trend is particularly alarming in regions with high crypto adoption, such as North America. It leads in both Bitcoin and altcoin thefts, and Europe dominates in ethereum and stablecoin losses. 

APAC (Asia-Pacific) ranks second for total BTC stolen and third for Ethereum. CSAO (Commonwealth of Independent States and Central Asia) ranks second for stolen altcoin and stablecoin value.

“So far in 2025, the US, Germany, Russia, Canada, Japan, Indonesia, and South Korea top the list of highest victim counts per country, whereas Eastern Europe, MENA, and CSAO saw the most rapid H1 2024 to H1 2025 growth in victim totals,” the report stated.

Meanwhile, Chainalysis also spotlighted the disturbing trend of ‘wrench attacks’ against crypto holders. Wrench attacks essentially involve using physical violence or threats to force victims to reveal private keys or transfer assets, bypassing digital security measures by targeting the individual directly.

BeInCrypto previously reported on the rise in kidnappings of crypto moguls, which was closely tied to Bitcoin’s increasing price. Interestingly, the report also revealed a correlation between these incidents and Bitcoin price movements.

“Our analysis reveals a clear correlation between these violent incidents and a forward-looking moving average of bitcoin’s price, suggesting that the future increase in asset values (and the perception of its future upward movement) may trigger additional opportunistic physical attacks against known crypto holders,” Chainalysis remarked.

The report warned that, based on current trends, 2025 is expected to have a significantly higher number of physical attacks against crypto holders, potentially double that of the ‘next highest year on record,’ with crime underreporting likely concealing the true extent of the problem.