In January 2025, the incidence of cryptocurrency cybercrime witnessed a noticeable reduction, with hackers seizing $73 million across 19 incidents—a 44% decrease from the $133 million stolen in January 2024. Despite this positive trend in cybersecurity, the figure marks a substantial increase from the $3.8 million taken in December 2024, as reported by Immunefi on January 30, 2025.
The most significant attack of the month was on the Singapore-based crypto exchange Phemex, where $69 million was stolen, accounting for most of the month's losses.
The second most substantial breach impacted Moby Trade, a crypto options platform, which lost $2.5 million. While the overall theft rate has dropped compared to the previous year, the data indicates that cryptocurrency platforms remain susceptible to cyber threats. Immunefi noted that centralized finance (CeFi) platforms were responsible for 93% of the stolen cryptocurrency in January, with significant thefts totaling $69 million.
Meanwhile, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols experienced 18 attacks, resulting in losses of just $4.8 million, which made up 6.5% of the total stolen funds. This underscores that, although DeFi platforms endure more frequent attacks, breaches in CeFi systems often lead to much larger financial losses.
Mitchell Amador, Immunefi's founder and CEO, suggests that CeFi platforms will likely continue to be primary targets for hackers in 2025 due to vulnerabilities in key management and security infrastructure. He cautioned that private key compromises present the greatest risks, allowing hackers to quickly drain large amounts of funds. Unlike DeFi breaches that often involve limited fund losses due to smart contract flaws, CeFi breaches can trigger catastrophic, system-wide failures.
To combat these threats, Amador advises CeFi platforms to implement robust, multi-layered security strategies. This includes enhancing key management systems, reducing reliance on single private keys, and bolstering overall operational security (OpSec) protocols. He also stressed the importance of ongoing security training for staff and recommended that platforms establish bug bounty programs and use real-time threat detection technology to improve security measures.
Bug bounty programs are critical in fortifying cryptocurrency security by encouraging ethical hackers to discover and report potential vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by malicious entities. Immunefi currently offers over $181 million in bounties for white-hat hackers, which aids in securing more than $190 billion in cryptocurrency assets.
Although January's decline in cyber theft is encouraging, sustained security advancements are essential for mitigating future threats.