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Malicious entities appropriate $80 million in January, with centralized exchanges most affected.
In January 2025, hacks related to cryptocurrency led to nearly $74 million in losses, representing an astonishing ninefold increase from December, according to a recent report by Immunefi.
This significant surge occurred despite an almost 45% year-over-year decrease compared to January 2024, when losses reached $133 million.
The bulk of the losses originated from two major incidents: a $69.1 million hack targeting the Singapore-based exchange Phemex and a $2.5 million breach of the options trading platform Moby Commerce.
Centralized finance (CeFi) platforms comprised 93.5% of the total stolen funds, while decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols accounted for only 6.5% of the losses across 18 attacks.
Phemex attack
The breach of Phemex was the largest cryptocurrency security event of the month and was responsible for nearly all CeFi-related losses.
Although the exchange did not immediately provide details regarding the breach, the magnitude of the theft highlighted the ongoing risks that centralized platforms face from sophisticated cybercriminals.
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In contrast, DeFi platforms experienced relatively smaller but more frequent incidents, with notable breaches including an $830,000 loss at Orange Finance and a $554,900 attack on IPC.
Other DeFi projects impacted in January included The Idols NFT, UniLend Finance, Odos, Laura Ai, Pika Infinity, and Sorra, each suffering losses ranging from $43,000 to $330,000.
BNB Chain primary target
Immunefi’s data also pointed to a shift in hackers’ attention toward specific blockchain networks. The BNB Chain was the most targeted, accounting for 50% of all crypto-related losses in January across 10 distinct attacks.
Ethereum followed with six incidents, while Arbitrum and Base each recorded two attacks. The layer-2 network Optimism was affected once.
Despite the month-over-month increase in total losses, the figures for January 2025 were significantly lower than those from a year earlier, indicating enhanced security measures across parts of the industry.
Immunefi’s findings underscore the persistent vulnerabilities in both CeFi and DeFi, particularly as hackers continue to refine their strategies to exploit weaknesses in digital asset platforms.
The post Malicious actors steal $80 million in January, CEXs hit hardest appeared first on CryptoSlate.
