Hackers Cause Record Damage to Crypto Market: $1.94 Billion in Quarter

The second largest source of losses were cases of compromised private keys, as a result of which about $140 million was stolen. Interestingly, with a minimum number of fraudulent rug pull schemes - only two cases - the total damage was $290 million, which is equivalent to almost 15% of the total damage.

Centralized cryptocurrency exchanges were especially hard hit. They accounted for $1.54 billion, or almost 80% of all losses, making them the main targets of cybercriminals. Global Ledger experts believe that this trend will continue in the future, given their vulnerability and concentration of assets.

Analysts paid special attention to the role of North Korean hackers: they accounted for $1.44 billion, or 74% of the total amount stolen. All other hack groups, including private and international, were able to steal only $450 million. This confirms the version that attacks from the DPRK are organized in nature and are probably supported by the state in order to finance the elite.

Tornado Cash once again turned out to be a key element in the process of laundering cryptocurrency. 53.33% of the stolen assets passed through this mixer. According to experts, an average of 43 hours pass from the moment of the attack to public disclosure, and the money reaches its new addresses in less than 68 hours, which makes it difficult to track and return it.

Additional information was provided by the Bank of Russia: in the first quarter of this year, 2,780 organizations with signs of illegal activity were identified - this is 56% more than in the same period of 2024. Of these, 1,638 operated according to the financial pyramid model, and 86% collected contributions in cryptocurrency, which indicates a continuing growth in shadow activity in this market.