Are hacker attacks worsening? In 2025, crypto asset thefts exceeded $2 billion. Are your funds still safe?

【Chain News】Recently, I came across a set of data that is quite alarming. According to Chainalysis’ tracking report, the amount of stolen crypto assets this year has reached approximately $2 billion, a 51% increase compared to last year. Cumulatively, the total amount of such thefts has surpassed $6.75 billion.

Here’s the key point—attack patterns are changing. Hackers are no longer conducting small-scale, wide-net thefts; instead, they are increasingly focusing their efforts on large centralized services, sometimes washing away over a billion dollars in a single attack. This “precision strike” efficiency is truly frightening. One major exchange alone suffered losses of about $1.4 billion, and attacks targeting service endpoints accounted for 76% of the total this year.

In terms of money laundering methods, hackers are playing new tricks. They use small split transactions combined with cross-chain bridges, along with mixing services for cover, laying the groundwork during the initial conversion. Then, they cash out through over-the-counter (OTC) channels in certain regions, with the entire cycle usually lasting around 45 days. This combination is much more covert than before.

But there’s an interesting change— the amount stolen from personal wallets has actually decreased, dropping from 44% last year to 20% this year, totaling about $713 million. However, this is not good news, as the number of incidents has actually surged to 158,000 cases. What does this indicate? Theft has become a new norm of “small amounts multiple times.”

Our takeaway is: large assets should be properly stored in self-custody wallets or on platforms with more robust security systems. Don’t assume exchanges are completely safe; stay alert to phishing and small-scale thefts. Defense is always more practical than recovery.