Crypto security crisis deepens after massive 2025 hacks

Crypto security suffered unprecedented strain during 2025 following record-breaking cyberattacks.

Total industry losses reached roughly three point five billion dollars.

The incident was a one point five billion Bybit breach.

Investigators linked the attack to North Korea’s Lazarus hacking group.

Hackers exploited supply chain weaknesses wallet infrastructure and signing tools.

The breach undermined confidence in decentralised finance security assumptions globally.

Bybit chief executive Ben Zhou guaranteed full asset backing immediately.

Zhou also launched a record bounty to track stolen funds.

Chainalysis reported an additional two billion dollars lost elsewhere industry.

Losses stemmed from smart contract exploits phishing and compromised wallets.

AI powered scams enabled attackers to deceive exchange support staff.

Several decentralised protocols suffered nine figure losses during the year.

Individual wallet compromises represented a sharply higher share of thefts.

Centralised platforms increasingly faced private key compromise risks during 2025.

Exchanges introduced protocol level freezing tools to limit criminal cashouts.

Critics warned such controls threaten decentralisation principles and longterm innovation.

Security experts called for coordination transparency and shared threat intelligence.

Collaborative initiatives aim to balance defence with open Web3 ecosystems.

Analysts said human error remains the dominant risk factor globally.

The 2025 crisis reshaped priorities for crypto security governance worldwide.