Listen up, guys, August saw hackers pull a slick move, snagging over $163 million in a dozen and a half of heists.
Industry experts say that’s a 15% jump from July’s take, and although it’s down 47% from last year, it’s still a serious pile of loot.
Most of that cash vanished thanks to a crafty social engineering sting, some poor Bitcoiner lost 783 Bitcoins, worth $91 million, after scammers played the long con pretending to be a legit exchange and wallet support. Real slick, real brutal.
Hot wallets got compromised
Hackers ain’t playing small anymore. PeckShield, the blockchain watchdogs, spill the beans, these crafty crooks have shifted their game to hunting big fish, centralized exchanges and wealthy individuals hoarding crypto treasures.
#PeckShieldAlert In August 2025, ~16 major crypto exploits were recorded, resulting in total losses of $163M—a 15% increase from July's $142M.
Notably, @btcturk suffered its second major breach in just over a year, losing over $50M after a $54M hack in June 2024., bringing their… pic.twitter.com/JWiWNEDdZW
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) September 1, 2025
Case in point, Turkey’s Btcturk exchange took a hit for nearly $50 million after its hot wallets got compromised.
This wasn’t their first tango with trouble either, a similar gig hit them back in June last year.
Even though hack attempts have slightly slowed, 16 in August compared to 20 in June, the stakes have never been higher.
Slow decline
Why this uptick in big-score burglaries? It’s the classic case of follow the money.
Kronos Research’s top dog, Hank Huang, explains that when crypto prices rise, so do the incentives for hackers to go big or go home.
Bitcoin hit over $124,000 on August 14, and Ether wasn’t far behind, smashing a record at $4,946 a week later.
With these gold rush prices, hackers got their sniper scopes trained on centralized wallets, using fancy phishing schemes and social engineering tricks to break the fortress.
Total losses have been on a slow decline overall, from $385 million in May to $176 million in June, then $142 million in July, but Huang warns everyone, the game’s far from over.
The trick? Security tech isn’t keeping pace with the attacks. So, losses might keep climbing till the tech catches up.
But AI and new security tech might just become the bodyguards these digital fortresses need to keep the loot safe eventually. A small hope.
Be prepared
For the whales out there, both fat corporate roosters and individual crypto kings, this is like a wake-up call.
PeckShield stresses cranking up your security game, locking doors tighter, and not just hoping for the best.
It’s survival of the smartest and most prepared. The hackers may be clever, but with the right defenses, the game is far from lost.
Disclosure:This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
Kriptoworld.com accepts no liability for any errors in the articles or for any financial loss resulting from incorrect information.
Cryptocurrency and Web3 expert, founder of Kriptoworld
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With years of experience covering the blockchain space, András delivers insightful reporting on DeFi, tokenization, altcoins, and crypto regulations shaping the digital economy.
📅 Published: September 4, 2025 • 🕓 Last updated: September 4, 2025
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