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Crypto market under fire: $2.5 billion stolen

Hacks, phishing and especially compromised wallets: even in the first half of 2025 the crypto world remained a playground for cybercriminals.

By Mike Hesp
• 2 min read
Crypto market under fire: $2.5 billion stolen

Hacks, phishing and especially compromised wallets: even in the first half of 2025 the crypto world remained a playground for cybercriminals. According to a new report from security firm Certik, the total stolen crypto rose to a staggering $2.5 billion, spread across 344 separate incidents.

The biggest hit came from one specific method: wallet compromising. In only 34 incidents, about $1.7 billion was taken. According to Certik, this is “the most expensive attack vector of the first half.”

But phishing attacks didn’t lag behind either. With 132 incidents and $410 million in damages, phishing tops the list by frequency. Certik notes: “Phishing has been responsible for the largest number of security incidents in 2025 so far.”

The bulk of these attacks occurred on Ethereum. Just on this smart contract blockchain, $1.6 billion worth of crypto was stolen.

Yet there’s a bright spot. In Q2 2025, total damage fell by roughly 50% versus Q1. Is that the start of a downward trend, or just a lull before the next storm? Time and the hackers will tell.

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