Cryptocurrency Industry Faces $3.83 Billion Loss from Hacks Since 2024

The total damage from 265 crypto hacks throughout 2024 and the first two months of 2025 has exceeded $3.83 billion, according to a report by the analytics firm Global Ledger. 

Losses from attacks in 2024 amounted to $1.94 billion. In the first two months of 2025, hackers stole an additional $1.89 billion, of which $1.46 billion was due to the largest hack in the industry’s history, the Bybit exchange breach.

Experts indicate that 2025 has begun with a level of attacks threatening to surpass last year’s figures.

In 2024, the main targets for attackers were CEX (41.05% of all losses) and DeFi (25.36%).

Meanwhile, attacks on gaming and gambling platforms ranked third with $288.37 million (14.89%).

The most significant threat was the compromise of private keys, which brought cybercriminals $930.08 million—nearly half of the total damage for 2024.

Exploitation of smart contract vulnerabilities also remains a frequent type of attack (48% of incidents), with total losses amounting to $369.8 million.

Mixers and privacy-focused protocols have become the primary tools for laundering stolen assets, with $763 million (39.4%) passing through them.

An additional $206.66 million was transferred by attackers to CEX and decentralized exchanges, while $84.7 million was moved between blockchains using cross-chain protocols.

According to the report, the central issue for the industry is the insufficient security of key infrastructural solutions, both centralized and decentralized. 

Losses in CeFi in 2024 amounted to $886.4 million, nearly double the losses in DeFi ($560.7 million).

Only 8% of the stolen funds ($155.53 million) have been recovered for the victims. 

Global Ledger noted the increasing complexity of attacks, including a rise in flash loan incidents ($112.51 million).

On March 27, Immunefi reported that cybercriminals stole $1.64 billion in 40 incidents during the first quarter of 2025. Analysts emphasized that crypto projects experienced the worst quarter in history in terms of the scale of losses and damage from hacker attacks.