Crypto Heists Drop Sharply in May 2025, Still Bleed $244.1M

Blockchain Security Firm Reports 39.29% Decline from April

Hackers snagged a hefty $244.1 million from crypto platforms last month, but it's a stark drop from April's haul!

PeckShield, the guardians of blockchain security, spilled the beans that this is a 39.29% dip from last month's figures. May witnessed around 20 major crypto capers, but get this—some of the loot got locked down through some slick recovery moves.

The buzziest bust involved the dynamic duo of Sui (SUI) validators and Cetus Protocol, who teamed up after a jaw-dropping $220 million heist. These network ninjas froze a cool $157 million of the swiped stash, snagging back 71% of the total take!

#PeckShieldAlert In May 2025, the crypto world saw ~20 major hacks, with losses totaling $244.1M—a 39.29% nosedive from April. Shoutout to @CetusProtocol & #SUI for putting the freeze on $157M of stolen cash, reclaiming 71% from the $220M mega-theft. #Top 5 Hacks in...

Cetus Protocol's $220M Exploit Leads the Pack

The Cetus Protocol hack was the month's headline-grabber, chewing up the lion's share of the losses. Dedaub, another blockchain watchdog, pointed out that attackers zeroed in on a weak spot in the most significant bits check mechanism.

These digital bandits pulled off a slick move, twisting liquidity settings big time and setting up hefty positions with hardly any sweat.

Though they made off with $220 million, a chunk—about $63 million—is still chilling in the thief's wallet, while the rest got iced by the validators' teamwork.

Other Notable Crypto Capers

The rest of May's top heists included Cork Protocol coughing up $12 million. A rumored North Korean crew nabbed $5.2 million next.

The MBU token took a $2.2 million hit, and MapleStory Universe bled out $1.2 million, rounding off the top five incidents of the month.

2025's Crypto Security Landscape

Even though May's numbers are a blow to the wallet, they're a step up from earlier in the year. In the first quarter, hackers made off with over $1.63 billion in crypto!

PeckShield highlighted that nearly 92% of those losses were thanks to a Bybit vulnerability.

January saw over $87 million in stolen crypto, while February skyrocketed to $1.53 billion—mostly due to the colossal Bybit attack, one of the biggest crypto thefts ever recorded.