- Hackers and scammers pocketed 1,500% more in February compared to January
- The total losses were $1.52 billion, with most of the funds coming from the $1.4 billion Bybit hack
- Losses in February, without the Bybit funds, were about $125 million
February was a lucrative month for hackers and scammers who stole 15X more in the month than in January with most of the funds coming from the Bybit hack. The funds lost in February, without the Bybit funds, were around $125 million which was still higher than the $98 million stolen in January. The rise in funds going to malicious actors comes two weeks after blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis noted that AI will help scammers increase their revenue in 2025, suggesting that this year may record the highest crypto losses so far.
$1.52 Billion Lost in February
According to blockchain security platform CertiK, threat actors stole $1.52 billion, with $1.4 billion coming from the Bybit hack, which was linked to North Korean threat actors. Other platforms that also lost a significant amount were Infini, zkLend, Iconic, and Suji_yan, which lost $49, $9.5, $8.5, and $3.7 million, respectively.
#CertiKStatsAlert 🚨
Combining all the incidents in February, we’ve confirmed ~$1.5B lost to exploits, hacks and scams.
The Bybit incident is the largest we have recorded since the Ronin Bridge exploit in 2022 which was also conducted by Lazarus.
More details below 👇 pic.twitter.com/n1fv9x0YNh
— CertiK Alert (@CertiKAlert) February 28, 2025
Losses from crypto wallet compromises accounted for the largest portion of the funds, at $1.5 billion, while others, such as code vulnerabilities, phishing, and access control exploits, accounted for less than $24 million.
Centralized exchanges incurred the highest losses followed by DeFi platforms. Malicious actors also stole funds through memecoin projects, wallet drainers, and address poisoning tactics.
Flash Loans and Phishing Attacks Less Successful
Tactics like phishing and flash loan attacks were less successful in February than in January. In February, for example, malicious actors stole $200,000 through flash loans compared to the $1 million stolen in January.
Scammers’ phishing attempts, on the other hand, brought in less than $2 million in February compared to the $8 million registered in January. The total amount lost in February is half of the $3 billion stolen in the whole of 2024.
With hackers’ and scammers’ malicious attempts bearing more fruits, the amount of crypto lost to these actors in 2025 may be more than any other year.
