In August, hackers and scammers stole more than $163 million from the cryptocurrency industry in 16 different attacks. I think this is just another reminder that no one is really safe in the crypto world. PeckShield, a blockchain security company, said that this is a 15% increase from the $142 million lost in July, but a 47% drop from last year.
#PeckShieldAlert In August 2025, ~16 major crypto exploits were recorded, resulting in total losses of $163M—a 15% increase from July's $142M.
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) September 1, 2025
Notably, @btcturk suffered its second major breach in just over a year, losing over $50M after a $54M hack in June 2024., bringing their… pic.twitter.com/JWiWNEDdZW
Most Important Events of August
The rise in attacks is partly due to hackers going after more valuable assets and the rise in the price of cryptocurrencies. PeckShield also saw a drop in the total number of hacks, which went from 20 in June to 17 in July and now 16 in August. This could be a good sign that security is getting better, but the losses are still big.
The biggest news story of the month was that a Bitcoiner fell for a social engineering attack. The victim lost an incredible 783 Bitcoin, which was worth $91 million at the time, when hackers pretended to be a crypto exchange and hardware wallet support. That hurts anyone's portfolio!
The Btcturk Exchange Was Hit Again
Another big theft happened at the Turkish crypto exchange Btcturk, where hackers broke into its hot wallets and stole almost $50 million worth of crypto. This was the second attack on the exchange, the first one happening just a few months earlier, in June 2024.
Why Crypto Prices Are a Double-Edged Sword
These kinds of attacks often happen when the price of cryptocurrency goes up, because higher prices make for better targets. Bitcoin went over $124,000 on August 14, and Ether went over $4,946 on August 24. Hank Huang, CEO of Kronos Research, said that the rise in prices is often linked to more crypto exploits. This is because attackers focus on centralized wallets and use more advanced phishing and social engineering methods.
Security Improvements in the Crypto Space
But I think there is good news. The total number of hacks is going down. In June, $176 million was lost, and in July, $142 million was lost. Huang, on the other hand, says that losses may still rise as the year goes on, not only because of rising cryptocurrency prices but also because security technology is not making progress as quickly as it could.
Huang thinks that new technologies and AI-driven security improvements could help lessen the effects in the future, which is a good thing. People with a lot of cryptocurrency should be especially careful and make sure their security is top-notch.
Jordan V.
Warning: The information on this site is not meant to be used for anything else. None of the material should be interpreted as investment advice. Please note that despite the nature of much of the material created and hosted on this website, HODL FM is not a financial reference resource, and the opinions of authors and other contributors are their own and should not be taken as financial advice. If you require advice. HODL FM strongly recommends contacting a qualified industry professional.
