Crypto Hacks Drop 44% In January As Hackers Steal $73M
Cryptocurrency-related cybercrime saw a significant decline in January 2025, with hackers stealing $73 million across 19 separate incidents — a 44% drop from the $133 million stolen in January 2024.
While the decrease is a positive sign for industry security, the figure still represents a sharp ninefold increase from December 2024, when crypto hackers stole just $3.8 million, according to a 30 January 2025 report from Immunefi.
The largest single attack of the month targeted Singapore-based crypto exchange Phemex, which lost $69 million, making up the vast majority of the month’s total stolen funds.
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Second-Largest Hack Involved Moby Trade
The second-largest hack involved Moby Trade, a crypto options platform, which suffered a $2.5 million breach. Despite the overall decline in theft compared to last year, the data underscores the ongoing vulnerability of cryptocurrency platforms to cyber threats.
According to Immunefi, centralized finance (CeFi) platforms accounted for 93% of all crypto theft in January, with losses totaling $69 million across a few major incidents.
In contrast, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols recorded 18 attacks, but total losses amounted to just $4.8 million, accounting for 6.5% of stolen funds. The data reinforces the perception that while DeFi platforms face more frequent attacks, CeFi breaches tend to result in far greater financial losses.
2/ Major attack: The biggest losses came from two incidents—Phemex ($69.1M) and Moby Trade ($2.5M). North Korean hackers at it again?
There are suspicions they’re behind the Phemex breach, a classic target and attack vector for their expertise—infrastructure compromise.
— Immunefi (@immunefi) January 30, 2025
Mitchell Amador, founder and CEO of Immunefi, believes that CeFi platforms will remain the primary target for hackers throughout 2025 due to vulnerabilities in key management and infrastructure security.
He warned that the biggest risks stem from private key compromises, allowing bad actors to drain massive amounts of funds in a single attack. Unlike DeFi exploits, which often involve partial fund losses due to smart contract vulnerabilities, CeFi breaches can result in catastrophic, system-wide failures.
Amador emphasized that CeFi platforms must adopt a multi-layered security approach, including improving key management systems, reducing reliance on single private keys, and strengthening operational security (OpSec) best practices.
He also highlighted the importance of regular security training for employees and suggested that platforms should implement bug bounty programs and real-time threat detection tools to enhance security.
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Bug Bounty Programs Strengthen Crypto Security
Bug bounty programs remain an essential defense mechanism in crypto security, incentivizing ethical hackers to find and report vulnerabilities before bad actors exploit them.
Immunefi currently offers over $181 million in bounties for white hat hackers, helping protect more than $190 billion in crypto assets. While January’s decline in total stolen funds is a promising development, ongoing security advancements will be crucial in reducing future cyber threats.
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The post Crypto Hacks Drop 44% In January As Hackers Steal $73M appeared first on 99Bitcoins.
