Latest news with #Chainalysis
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
North Korean hackers blamed for record spike in crypto thefts in 2025
Hackers have stolen more than $2 billion in crypto during the first half of 2025, according to new data from crypto analysis firm Chainalysis, marking the worst year-to-date on record for crypto thefts. The blockchain analysis company said Thursday in a new report that the $2.17 billion stolen during the first half of 2025 has already surpassed the amount of crypto lost last year. Not only that, the amount of cryptocurrency stolen during the first six months of 2025 was about 17% higher than the same period in 2022, which was previously the worst year on record for stolen crypto. Much of the stolen crypto this year was attributed to a single breach at crypto exchange ByBit, which saw North Korean hackers steal more than $1.4 billion in crypto, much of it subsequently laundered and funneled into the North Korean regime, per the FBI. Chainalysis said the ByBit hack falls within a broader pattern of North Korean hacks, which have 'become increasingly central to the regime's sanctions evasion strategies.' North Korea, largely cut off from the outside world and the international banking system, has become a formidable threat in recent years by targeting Western companies to steal cryptocurrency with the aim of funding its sanctioned nuclear weapons program. North Korea has also relied on thousands of remote IT workers, who infiltrate tech companies to earn a wage, steal intellectual property, and then extort companies into paying so as not to publish their sensitive files. According to an earlier Chainalysis report, North Korean hackers were blamed for almost two-thirds of all crypto hacks during 2024.
TechCrunch
3 days ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
North Korean hackers blamed for record spike in crypto thefts in 2025
Hackers have stolen more than $2 billion in crypto during the first half of 2025, according to new data from crypto analysis firm Chainalysis, marking the worst year-to-date on record for crypto thefts. The blockchain analysis company said Thursday in a new report that the $2.17 billion stolen during the first half of 2025 has already surpassed the amount of crypto lost last year. Not only that, the amount of cryptocurrency stolen during the first six months of 2025 was about 17% higher than the same period in 2022, which was previously the worst year on record for stolen crypto. Much of the stolen crypto this year was attributed to a single breach at crypto exchange ByBit, which saw North Korean hackers steal more than $1.4 billion in crypto, much of it subsequently laundered and funneled into the North Korean regime, per the FBI. Chainalysis said the ByBit hack falls within a broader pattern of North Korean hacks, which have 'become increasingly central to the regime's sanctions evasion strategies.' North Korea, largely cut off from the outside world and the international banking system, has become a formidable threat in recent years by targeting Western companies to steal cryptocurrency with the aim of funding its sanctioned nuclear weapons program. North Korea has also relied on thousands of remote IT workers, who infiltrate tech companies to earn a wage, steal intellectual property, and then extort companies into paying so as not to publish their sensitive files. According to an earlier Chainalysis report, North Korean hackers were blamed for almost two-thirds of all crypto hacks during 2024.
CNBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Crypto theft is booming as criminals increasingly turn to physical attacks
The value of cryptocurrencies stolen by criminals surged in the first six months of 2025 after a high-profile hack and a wave of physical attacks targeting crypto holders and their relatives. So far this year, $2.17 billion has been stolen from crypto services — already eclipsing the $1.87 billion of funds stolen from platforms in 2024 — and this is expected to reach $4 billion by the end of 2025, according to a report published Thursday by blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis. Overall, the combined value of digital tokens stolen from both crypto platforms and individuals hit more than $2.8 billion and is already approaching the $3.4 billion in crypto stolen last year. The bulk of the funds stolen from services came from February's cyberattack on Dubai crypto exchange Bybit, which saw North Korea-linked hackers make off with $1.5 billion. It's estimated to be the largest crypto heist in history. However, the rise in stolen crypto assets was also driven by a spike in attacks on individual crypto wallets. Personal wallets accounted for over 23% of total thefts, with attackers increasingly turning to physical violence and coercion to access funds, Chainalysis said. In January, David Balland, a co-founder of crypto wallet firm Ledger, was kidnapped with his wife from their home in central France. Before they were freed, the attackers cut off Balland's finger and sent footage of it to his fellow co-founder Eric Larcheveque demanding ransom money. Separately, in May, the father of a crypto entrepreneur was taken in broad daylight by four men wearing ski masks. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of several million euros and cut off one of the man's fingers. He was freed by police days later. Eric Jardine, cybercrimes research lead at Chainalysis, told CNBC that the rise in crypto-related thefts was primarily being driven by increasing crypto adoption and price appreciation. "Adoption means there are more services and users in the crypto ecosystem, making thefts more common. Price appreciation means that services and individuals in crypto have more USD value to lose, even if the total assets stolen are relatively constant over time," Jardine said via email. Jardine suggested that the uptick in attacks on individual crypto holders could relate to the fact that crypto trading services are beefing up their security. "If services become better at security, malicious actors will potentially move to targeting individual wallet holders and trade off a single large-scale heist in favor of a large number of smaller-scale victimizations," he said. Meanwhile, rising wealth accumulated through holdings of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin has resulted in a rise in crypto influencers flaunting their lifestyle on social media platforms. Jardine stressed it was important not to blame the victims of physical crypto-related attacks, adding that "showy displays of wealth can quite obviously attract the attention of a bad actor when compared to a more modest outward facing lifestyle."
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Crypto Thefts, Hacks Have Already Topped Last Year's Tally
The $1.5 billion hack of the exchange Bybit attributed to North Korea's Lazarus Group has resulted in more funds being swiped from digital platforms already this year than in all of 2024. In total, $2.17 billion was stolen from crypto services and individual wallets through June, according to blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis.
The Verge
3 days ago
- Business
- The Verge
Crypto crime in 2025 is topping last year's totals already.
Posted Jul 17, 2025 at 12:00 PM UTC Crypto crime in 2025 is topping last year's totals already. More than $2.17 billion has been stolen from crypto services this year, more than the entirety of 2024, according to a report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. Then again, most of that came from a single hack — a $1.46 billion heist of Bybit linked to North Korean hackers, the largest crypto theft in history — and without that, the numbers would look a little rosier. 2025 Crypto Crime Mid-year Update [
