Crypto Theft Sees 303% Quarterly Jump After Record Bybit Hack

Cryptocurrency thefts surged by 303% during the first quarter to $1.67 billion.

That jump was primarily driven by the historic billion-dollar hack on the Bybit exchange, Seeking Alpha reported Saturday (April 5), citing data from blockchain security firm CertiK.

This figure represented 197 hacks during the first quarter of the year, six more than the previous quarter, the report said. Around 98 of those incidents involved ethereum, a key player in the decentralized finance space that makes it a popular target for hackers.

Bybit announced in February that it had suffered the largest crypto theft on record, with hackers stealing $1.45 billion worth of digital assets from its ethereum wallet.

“The fallout from Bybit’s breach has since sent shockwaves throughout the industry, raising urgent questions about security measures at centralized exchanges, with many regulators and security firms calling for stronger protective measures,” CertiK said.

According to the report, the second-biggest hack during the quarter involved the Singapore crypto exchange Phemex, in which the hackers made off with $71 million.

“With threat actors adopting AI [artificial intelligence] and advanced social engineering, the arms race between attackers and defenders is heating up,” CertiK wrote in a post on X.

The uptick in hacking came in a quarter marked by a change in the crypto landscape under the Trump administration, with regulators withdrawing lawsuits against crypto exchanges and the White House moving to create a national bitcoin reserve.

“These advancements aim to provide greater clarity and stability to the crypto ecosystem, but have thus far done little to address the immediate security risks that continue to plague the industry,” CertiK said.

In the wake of the Bybit hack, the price of bitcoin — which had been riding high following the election of President Donald Trump — slipped below $90,000 for the first time in months.

Meanwhile, PYMNTS wrote last week about the potential impact of the White House’s new tariffs on the crypto sector, such as disruptions in global supply chains affecting miners and blockchain developers, especially if components like semiconductors become more expensive.

“However, the decentralized nature of blockchain technology might also provide opportunities for innovation in cross-border transactions, potentially mitigating some of the negative effects of tariffs,” that report said.

“While Trump’s tariffs have introduced significant uncertainty into the global economic landscape, the crypto and blockchain sectors are poised to navigate these challenges. In the short term, volatility and risk aversion may dominate, but the long-term prospects for cryptocurrencies as stores of value and mediums of exchange remain promising.”