Cryptocurrency-related hacks resulted in nearly $ 74 million in losses in January 2025, which marked a stunning ninefold increase from December, according to a new report from Immunefi.
Despite a decrease of almost 45% on an annual basis, the sharp increase was compared to January 2024, when the losses amounted to a total of $ 133 million.
The majority of the losses stemmed from two major incidents: a hack of $ 69.1 million aimed at the Exchange Phemex established in Singapore and a $ 2.5 million infringement on the Moby Trade options trade platform.
Centralized Finance (CEFI) platforms accounted for 93.5% of the total stolen funds, while Defi protocols represented only 6.5% of the losses over 18 attacks.
Phemex attack
The attack on Phemex was the largest crypto security incident of the month and was responsible for almost all CEFI-related losses.
Although the exchange did not immediately announce details about the infringement, the enormous scale of the theft underlined the risks of centralized platforms that are confronted with refined cyber criminals.
Defi platforms, on the other hand, saw relatively smaller but more frequent incidents, with remarkable infringements, including a loss of $ 830,000 at Orange Finance and an attack of $ 554.900 on IPC.
Other Defi projects that were hit in January were the idols NFT, Unilend Finance, Odos, Laura Ai, Pika Infinity and Sorra, each suffering losses ranging from $ 43,000 to $ 330,000.
BNB chain Top objective
The data from Immunefi also emphasized a shift in the focus from hackers to specific blockchain networks. The BNB chain was the most exploited, accounting for 50% of all crypto-related losses in January on 10 separate attacks.
Ethereum followed with six incidents, while arbitrum and base each registered two attacks. The Layer-2 network optimism was once hit.
Despite the nail of the monthly month in total losses, the figures of January 2025 were considerably lower than a year earlier, which suggests that improved security measures in parts of the industry.
The findings of Immunefi reinforce the constant vulnerabilities in both CEFI and Defi, in particular because hackers continue to refine their tactics to exploit weaknesses in digital asset platforms.
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