If you are a curious crypto trend watcher, you might have noticed a wave of crypto crimes, including the frequent on-chain exploitations happening in the realm recently. There has been an exponential rise in hacks between 2024 and 2025, with a 46% increase. And here is the latest report on crypto crimes shared by blockchain data platform Chainalysis.
Crypto Crime Report reveals massive fund flows
In its latest report, titled ‘Crypto Crime Report,’ the blockchain data platform revealed that nearly $154 billion in funds were received through illicit crypto transactions. In detail, the report emphasized that several state-backed activities and sanctions evasion have significantly driven the surge.
For instance, several US law enforcement agencies have linked high-profile crypto crimes to Lazarus Group, a hacker group alleged to have links to North Korea.
Importantly, Chainalysis researchers specified that North Korea stole more crypto funds, and Russia’s A7A5 token facilitates “large-scale sanctions evasion.” DPRK‑linked hackers, allegedly from North Korea alone, grabbed $2 billion in multiple crypto crimes.
Sanctioned entities received illicit funds
The $154 million worth of crypto funds received by illegal crypto wallet addresses represents a nearly 162% increase year-over-year (YoY). The YoY statistics are driven by a 694% increase in crime from sanctioned entities, meaning restricted or penalized entities actively participated in crypto-related heists.
However, the blockchain data noted that the surge in illicit crypto activities is still a small fraction when compared to the total crypto usage.
In other words, most of the crypto transactions happening across the industry are legitimate. “Our estimate for the illicit share of all attributed crypto transaction volume increased slightly in 2024 but remains below 1%,” read the report.
As we conclude, the Chainalysis report depicts that the crypto industry saw more crimes in 2025 than in 2024. And, as 2026 begins, it is evident that the crypto industry is likely to continue witnessing major smart-contract breaches, including the recent Truebit Protocol hack.
