At least $142 million was stolen from the cryptocurrency industry in July 2025, marking a sharp rise in digital asset-related thefts. The figure, reported by blockchain security firm PeckShield, reflects a 27% increase from the $111 million lost in June — though it’s still significantly lower than the $266 million recorded in July 2024.
The most significant breach of the month was the $44 million hack of Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX on July 18. CEO Sumit Gupta described the incident as a “sophisticated server breach,” and authorities have since arrested an employee in connection with the attack.
#PeckShieldAlert In July 2025, ~17 major crypto hacks were recorded, resulting in total losses of $142M—a 27.2% increase (from $111.6M in June). Notably, the #GMX exploiter has returned ~$40.5M worth of cryptos, including 10K ETH and 10.5M $FRAX.#Top5 Hacks in July 2025:… pic.twitter.com/Y5VLUILq5Z
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) August 1, 2025
Another major incident occurred on July 11, when decentralized exchange GMX was exploited for $40 million. In a rare twist, the attacker returned the stolen funds days after the incident. Meanwhile, BigONE exchange was targeted on July 16 through a third-party attack on its hot wallet infrastructure, leading to losses of at least $27 million.
The month’s third-largest exploit hit trading platform WOO X on July 24. Hackers leveraged social engineering tactics to gain access to a team member’s computer, resulting in a $14 million theft. Rob Behnke, chairman of security firm Halborn, said the attackers used the access to infiltrate the development environment and conduct malicious transactions for nearly two hours before withdrawals were suspended.
The stolen funds spanned multiple blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Arbitrum. In some cases, platforms like WOO X were able to reimburse affected users from their treasury reserves.
Experts are increasingly warning of a shift in hacker strategy — away from smart contract vulnerabilities and toward back-end systems and offchain infrastructure.
“As DeFi hackers grow more sophisticated and increasingly target back end systems and infrastructure, projects need to have strong security controls and processes in place to mitigate these threats.”
Behnke said.
As cybercriminals evolve their methods, the industry continues to face mounting pressure to upgrade its defences.
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