Cryptocurrency was created on the premise of securing itself by code. That's a promise that has been tried and retried. Just recently, Bitget confirmed the theft of approximately $350 million from its exchange that serves as another reminder of how even older exchanges are susceptible to it. Researchers at TRM Labs estimate that attackers stole $2.9 billion last year in almost 150 distinct attacks. Authorities also have said that crypto is now being used by organised crime groups to transfer funds internationally, beyond the scope of banks.
Let's take a look at the biggest hacks in the crypto world since the introduction of bitcoin in 2008 to get a glimpse of what dangers digital assets face today.
Bybit
Bybit, the biggest crypto exchange, suffered the largest crypto heist in its history of $1.5 billion in ether in February 2025. The FBI blamed North Korea, stating that it found the stolen money were quickly remixed in other cryptocurrencies and dispersed among thousands of addresses on various blockchains. North Korea has in various instances denied any involvement in crypto heists.
Poly Network
In August 2021, Poly Network, a peer-to-peer (P2P) token transfer platform, reported a hack that resulted in the loss of approximately $610 million. Soon after, the thieves sent back almost all the money. The hack highlighted the vulnerabilities of decentralised finance, or DeFi, which is an emerging part of the crypto sector where individuals can lend, borrow and save using digital tokens without involving intermediaries like banks and exchanges.
Ronin Network
During March of 2022, hackers had allegedly stolen approximately $540 million worth of cryptocurrency from Ronin Network, the platform that powers Axie Infinity, the extremely popular game. Ronin, which enables the transfer of cryptocurrencies between various blockchains, said it suffered a hack where 173,600 tokens of the ether cryptocurrency were stolen along with 25.5 million USD Coin tokens.
Coincheck
In January 2018, the Tokyo-based exchange Coincheck had its credentials stolen, causing it to lose approximately $530 million from an internet-connected digital wallet, called a hot wallet. The breach put a spotlight on exchange security practices worldwide. At the time, South Korea's intelligence agency indicated that the attack could have been conducted by a North Korean hacking team.
Mt. Gox
Mt. Gox was the main bitcoin exchange market prior to the arrival of crypto in the mainstream. The Tokyo-based exchange suffered almost a half billion dollars in losses of bitcoins from hackers between 2011 and 2014. Mt. Gox's bankruptcy came to light when its losses were revealed and it was discovered that approximately 24,000 customers had lost access to their funds, many of whom are still waiting for them to be resolved more than ten years later.
A Pattern Worth Watching
All of these cases follow a pattern. From the concentrated exchange where customers keep their money to the decentralised protocol that operates on the smart contract, crypto theft has grown as large as the industry. Don't run away from digital assets, just understand how to put them in a safe place, how exchanges keep them safe, and why it is important to diversify where they are stored. With the development of blockchain, the protection of blockchain users is also developing.
