Hackers stole more than $2 billion worth of cryptocurrency in the first half of 2025, making it the worst year for cryptocurrency thefts on record, according to new data from cryptocurrency analytics firm Chainalysis.
The $2.17 billion in cryptocurrency stolen in the first half of 2025 exceeded the amount lost in all of last year, the blockchain analytics firm said in a new report on Thursday. Not only that, the amount of cryptocurrency stolen in the first six months of 2025 was about 17% higher than the same period in 2022, which had previously been the worst year for cryptocurrency theft.
Most of the stolen cryptocurrency this year stemmed from a breach of cryptocurrency exchange ByBit, which saw North Korean hackers steal more than $1.4 billion worth of cryptocurrency, much of which was later laundered and funneled into the North Korean regime, according to the FBI.
Chainalysis said the ByBit hack was part of a broader pattern of North Korean hacking that "has become central to the North Korean regime's sanctions evasion strategy."
Largely cut off from the outside world and the international banking system, North Korea has emerged as a potent threat in recent years, targeting Western companies to steal cryptocurrencies aimed at funding its sanctioned nuclear weapons program. North Korea also relies on thousands of remote IT workers who infiltrate technology companies to earn wages, steal intellectual property, and then blackmail companies into paying fees to prevent their sensitive files from being released.
According to an earlier report by Chainalysis, almost two-thirds of crypto hacking attacks in 2024 were carried out by North Korean hackers.