The first quarter of 2025 saw a staggering $1.63 billion lost to crypto hacks, marking a 131% increase year-over-year, according to blockchain security firm PeckShield. The period was dominated by the Bybit breach, which accounted for 92% of total losses.

Massive Spike in February Due to Bybit Exploit

January saw hackers steal over $87 million in cryptocurrency, but February witnessed an alarming surge, with total losses reaching $1.53 billion. This sharp increase was largely attributed to the Bybit attack, one of the most significant crypto heists to date. Aside from Bybit, February also recorded $126 million in additional losses from other incidents, including a $50-million exploit targeting Infini, a $9.5-million attack on zkLend, and an $8.5-million breach involving Ionic.

March Sees Sharp Decline in Crypto Hacks

March brought a considerable drop in crypto-related attacks, with losses decreasing by 97% compared to February. Only $33 million was stolen during the month, with some of the funds even being recovered. The largest incident involved a $13 million exploit on the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Abracadabra.Money on 25 March, where the attacker drained 6,260 Ether (ETH) from the platform.

Another significant attack in March targeted the real-world asset (RWA) restaking protocol Zoth, resulting in an $8.4-million loss. Security firm Cyvers flagged a suspicious transaction on 21 March, showing that an attacker had withdrawn funds from Zoth’s wallets before converting them into a stablecoin and transferring them to another address.

Partial Fund Recovery in March

While millions were lost, some hackers opted to return stolen assets. On 7 March, a cybercriminal who stole $5 million from decentralised exchange (DEX) 1inch returned 90% of the funds after being offered a 10% bounty. The DEX had suffered a smart contract vulnerability exploit, and after negotiations, the hacker returned $4.5 million, keeping $500,000 as a reward.

Crypto Attacks Continue to Escalate

With more than 60 recorded attacks in Q1 2025, the total losses represent a significant jump from the $706 million lost during the same period in 2024. While March showed signs of recovery, the sharp rise in hacking incidents earlier in the year highlights the growing vulnerabilities within the crypto ecosystem. Industry experts continue to call for enhanced security measures to combat the escalating threat of cyber theft in the digital asset space.