Biggest Crypto Hacks and Heists Explained: How Billions…
By Damilola Esebame
AI summary of the source article
Bybit suffered a record $1.5 billion cryptocurrency theft in February 2025, attributed to North Korea's Lazarus Group. Overall crypto theft reached $2.17 billion in the first half of 2025, driven significantly by centralized exchange breaches.
Why it matters
Regulatory agencies worldwide are tightening compliance requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges following repeated large-scale breaches, increasing pressure on platforms to strengthen custody controls, cybersecurity practices, and transparency around their reserves.
Key facts
- Bybit lost $1.5 billion in a February 2025 hack attributed by blockchain investigators to North Korea's Lazarus Group.
- Cryptocurrency theft totaled $2.17 billion in the first half of 2025, according to Chainalysis data.
- Elliptic reported that North Korea-linked actors carried out more than 30 hacks by October 2025, stealing over $2 billion.
Source excerpt · FinanceFeeds
KEY TAKEAWAYS The Bybit exchange suffered a $1.5 billion hack in February 2025, marking the largest single cryptocurrency theft ever recorded and attributed to North Korea's state-sponsored Lazarus Group by blockchain investigators. Crypto theft reached $2.17 billion in the first half of 2025 alone, according to Chainalysis data reported by The Record, with major centralized exchange breaches cont…