The crypto market was shaken by 16 major security incidents that wiped out more than $163 million last month, a sharp increase from the previous month.
From individual holders and exchanges to RWA projects, no link in the chain seemed safe from increasingly sophisticated hacks.
The Spreading Wave of Hacks
SponsoredHack August 2025 highlighted a month of significant events in blockchain security. Around 16 major crypto exploits caused a total loss of $163 million, up 15% from July’s $142 million.
The five most significant cases showed a wide range of targets: an individual Bitcoin holder lost about $91.4 million in a social engineering scam; Turkey’s BtcTurk exchange saw $48–54 million drained from its hot wallets; ODIN•FUN suffered a $7 million loss; BetterBank.io lost $5 million; and CrediXFinance lost $4.5 million.
These figures reveal the scale of damage and highlight attack vectors such as poor private key management. Additionally, they point to smart contract vulnerabilities and operational risks at exchanges.
A darker layer of the picture involves organized attack groups. Reports showed alleged North Korean hackers stole around $1.6 billion in crypto during the first half of 2025, accounting for roughly 70% of global losses.
Beyond technical exploits, hackers have also been found using fake identities to apply for IT jobs, giving them access to internal systems and software supply chains. This form of social engineering makes insider risks even more severe.
The pattern reflects a systematic and long-term strategy for illegally accumulating capital. It combines advanced on-chain techniques with human-based infiltration methods.
In addition to the high-profile hacking cases in August 2025, a Certik report highlighted the growing trend of attacks on Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization projects. It noted that approximately $14.6 million was lost in the first half of 2025. RWA projects bridge on-chain infrastructure with off-chain assets, creating multiple weak points for hackers to exploit.
