This figure surpasses the total amount stolen in all of 2024 and suggests a troubling upward trend in digital asset crime.
Notably, it took only 142 days in 2025 for crypto thefts to cross the $2 billion mark, compared to 214 days in 2022. If this pace holds, losses could exceed $4.3 billion by year-end, a new all-time high.
While centralized exchanges remain key targets, personal wallets now represent a growing share of the losses, accounting for 23.35% of stolen funds this year.
Chainalysis linked this trend to rising adoption and improved exchange security, which may be pushing attackers to exploit individuals perceived as less protected.
Considering this, Chainalysis concluded:
“It is clear that 2025 is well on track to have potentially twice as many physical attacks as the next highest year on record.”
On the laundering front, attackers targeting crypto services demonstrate more sophistication than those focused on personal wallets.
In contrast, those stealing from personal wallets tend to rely on basic tools like centralized exchanges or direct interactions with token contracts to hide stolen funds.
Interestingly, criminals are now holding stolen assets for longer periods. A growing number of wallet-based attacks show funds remaining idle on-chain, indicating either confidence in operational security or an intent to follow standard “HODL” investment behavior.
Chainalysis also found that threat actors are paying higher-than-normal fees to move illicit funds, which can be up to 14.5 times the average transaction fee in 2025.
The firm noted that this premium is being paid despite an overall drop in average transaction costs since 2022. According to Chainalysis:
“It is also notable that threat actors targeting services typically pay higher premiums than those conducting personal wallet thefts, likely reflecting the urgency of moving large sums before detection and freezing measures can be implemented.”
