In May 2025, about 20 major security breaches were registered within the cryptocurrency market, which brought together a combined total of $244.1 million worth of losses. This number is a notable 39.29% drop from the previous month, bringing a ray of hope for an industry hounded by cyberattacks.
Even as overall losses decreased, many of them stemmed from one incident, a $220 million exploit of Cetus Protocol. Recovery was successful, with $157 million of it from such an occurrence frozen by Cetus and the Sui Network, a 71% partial recovery.
This fall in total losses does indicate that rising investment by the sector in cybersecurity is starting to pay off. The stark difference from April losses is a trend that could mold a stronger crypto environment if it continues.
The compromise of the Cetus Protocol on May 22 soon emerged as the month’s worst cyber assault. The decentralized exchange was breached by attackers within a day, causing huge amount of losses.
The flaw, found in a key liquidity protocol check, allowed the attackers to manipulate parameters and extract large positions with minimal effort. Although a significant portion remains unrecovered, the freezing of $157 million worth of assets has helped reduce the overall damage.
Other significant breaches were the $12 million ransom of the Cork Protocol, a $5.2 million presumably state-sponsored attack, and smaller incidents affecting the MBU token and MapleStory Universe. Although less impactful individually, these events highlight the relentless threat scene confronted by decentralized platforms today.
The response from the cryptocurrency industry has been very quick. At the end of May, reports were published that showed increased monitoring and countermeasures being deployed by both private and public cybersecurity organizations against threats in the cryptocurrency space.
Operations conducted by the exchange BitMEX revealed certain weaknesses in prominent threat actors like the Lazarus Group, which had previously carried out high-value attacks. Such operations will rather build defenses throughout the industry.
This proactive approach sets the scene for earlier months of 2025, when high-value thefts increased, including the $1.53 billion loss in February that was largely a result of the Bybit exploit.
May’s significant decline could mark the onset of a period where digital finance increasingly engages with security concerns, but meanwhile, ongoing threats remind us that vigilance will remain necessary.
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