Hackers stole more than $1.63 billion in cryptocurrency during the first quarter of 2025, with the Bybit exploit accounting for more than 92% of total losses, according to blockchain security firm PeckShield.

PeckShield reported that over $87 million in crypto was lost to hacks in January, while February saw a dramatic spike to $1.53 billion, largely due to the Bybit attack. That incident was one of the largest crypto thefts to date.

In addition to the Bybit hack, other attacks in February caused $126 million in losses. This included a $50-million exploit targeting Infini, a $9.5-million hack on zkLend and an $8.5-million loss from Ionic.  

Hack-related losses dropped significantly in March, decreasing by 97% from February. PeckShield reported only $33 million in crypto assets were stolen last month. Some funds were even recovered, helping offset damage to users and protocols.

Crypto hacks saw a 131% year-over-year increase

According to PeckShield, the first quarter of 2025 saw more than 60 crypto hacks. The blockchain security firm said the $1.63 billion loss in Q1 2025 represented a 131% year-over-year increase from the first quarter of 2024, when losses reached $706 million.

The largest incident in March was a $13 million exploit involving decentralized finance protocol Abracadabra.Money. PeckShield said the attacker drained 6,260 Ether (ETH) from the protocol on March 25.

Related: North Korean crypto attacks rising in sophistication, actors — Paradigm

The second-biggest incident during the month was an $8.4-million hack on the real-world asset (RWA) restaking protocol Zoth. 

On March 21, security firm Cyvers flagged a suspicious Zoth transaction, an attacker withdrawing $8.4 million from the protocol’s wallets. The assets were converted into a stablecoin and transferred to another address. 

While millions were lost in March, some cases saw assets being returned. On March 7, a crypto hacker who stole $5 million from decentralized exchange (DEX) 1inch returned 90% of the funds. 

After a smart contract vulnerability was exploited, the DEX offered a 10% bounty to the attacker, worth $500,000, in exchange for returning the rest of the crypto assets. The hacker obliged and sent back $4.5 million to 1inch. 

Magazine: Mystery celeb memecoin scam factory, HK firm dumps Bitcoin: Asia Express