What to Know:
- Crypto hack losses fell by 37% to $509 million in Q3, despite a record surge of million-dollar incidents in September.
- Centralized exchanges were the most targeted, with DeFi projects following closely behind.
- Hacken CEO, Yevheniia Broshevan, has warned of the evolving tactics of hackers and urges platforms and users to enhance their security measures.
In the latest news concerning the crypto market, Q3 saw a significant 37% drop in losses from crypto hacks, tumbling to $509 million despite a record-setting surge in million-dollar incidents in September.
Data obtained from blockchain security firm, CertiK, revealed that losses fell from approximately $803 million in Q2 to $509 million in Q3, representing a 36.6% decline. This downward trend in losses also extends to Q1 figures, which saw hackers abscond with nearly $1.7 billion, marking over a 70% reduction in Q3.
The firm noted a sharp fall in losses resulting from code vulnerabilities, from $272 million in Q2 to $78 million in Q3, alongside a decrease in phishing-related losses, despite a relatively constant number of incidents. Interestingly, while losses shrank, September witnessed an unprecedented number of million-dollar-plus incidents.
September set a new benchmark for high-value hacks, with 16 incidents surpassing $1 million, the highest monthly figure ever recorded. This stark uptick in activity in September has raised the year-to-date average for 2025 to nearly six million-dollar security incidents per month, still falling short of the over eight incidents per month recorded in 2024 and 2023.
Crypto analysts have noted that while there were no $100 million mega-hacks this quarter, attackers are shifting their focus towards mid-sized exploits.
CertiK’s data highlighted that centralized exchanges suffered the most losses during the quarter, with $182 million stolen. A spokesperson from CertiK stated that “exchanges, as well as DeFi projects, continue to be lucrative targets for attackers, particularly for state-sponsored groups.”
Blockchain security firm Hacken echoed these sentiments, spotlighting centralized exchanges as the primary victims in the third quarter. The Hacken team emphasized that exchanges were compromised through sophisticated phishing and social engineering tactics to access multisig and hot wallets.
DeFi projects were the second most targeted, with a total loss of $86 million to hacks in Q3. One of the largest exploits was the GMX v1 decentralized exchange hack, which resulted in a loss of $40 million. In a surprising turn of events, the hacker returned the funds after receiving a $5 million bounty.
Yevheniia Broshevan, Hacken CEO, told Cointelegraph that Q3 demonstrated that North Korea’s cyber units remain the most significant threat to the ecosystem. Broshevan revealed that approximately half of the stolen funds during the quarter were attributed to North Korean hacking operations.
Broshevan also warned that hackers’ strategies are evolving from phishing attacks to multi-layered operational compromises, urging centralized platforms and users to enhance their vigilance.
Despite the increase in million-dollar incidents, the 37% decline in total losses and a corresponding 71% decrease in code exploit incidents in Q3 suggest a silver lining. These statistics indicate that efforts to strengthen codebases across the industry may be showing signs of success.
