In 2025, crypto went completely mainstream! With Trump's return to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, due to the GENIUS Act, stablecoins are getting their runway to regulatory approval, and big names like JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Circle are pushing into the blockchain ecosystem. The stablecoin market cap surpassed $246B, and transactions volumes have surpassed Visa + Mastercard combined. By May, Bitcoin reached $111K.

Another side of the story?
H1 2025: Crypto Crime Resulted in Losses of $2.47 Billion

CertiK reported that throughout the first half of 2025, a total of 344 reported security incidents led to a loss of over $2.47B from the crypto ecosystem.

This is 47% more than the total loss all of 2024 for the ecosystem but involved fewer hacks.

Wallet exploits and phishing scams were the leading cause (with Bybit and Cetus being some of the worst protocols affected).

The hackers are learning, and seem more intelligent. Gone are the days of simple copy/paste rug pulls. Now we are seeing smart contract exploits, wallet drain hacks, deep fake schemes, and real-life wrench attacks. CertiK reported 32 real-life physical wrench attacks throughout 2025, with a third of those in France.

Ethereum remains at the top of the attack list. TRON is the highest illicit financial flow due to its low fees. DeFi tends to be the playground of exploits.

Is regulation catching up?
Chainalysis and TRM indicate that while governments are getting better at tracking tools, the majority of these attacks are happening in plain sight, through centralized exchanges or peer-to-peer.