July 2025 saw an escalated frequency of crypto-targeted cyberattacks, reports blockchain security firm PeckShield.
In their report on X, an estimated 17 significant hacking incidents were recorded in the month and amassed combined losses totaling approximately $142 million.
The new numbers are a 27.2% increase from the $111.6 million stolen in June, spelling a worrying trend for the industry.
The increase in attacks means both an increase in frequency and more sophistication of malicious actors on both centralized exchanges and decentralized platforms.
CoinDCX Hit by $44.2M Exploit Following Social Engineering Attack
The most severe breach of the month was suffered by CoinDCX, India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and it lost an estimated $44.2 million.
The $44.2 million attack started with a scam ploy to trick a company employee into accepting a fake part-time job offer.
The innocent company employee, unaware of the ploy, downloaded and installed malware on a company laptop, thereby granting the perpetrators unauthorized access to internal systems.
This form of exploit reflects the shift that threatens to head away from regular technical exploits and towards using psychological manipulation as a way to breach secure environments.
Also Read: CoinDCX Employee Rahul Agarwal & An Engineer Arrested In $44M Exchange Hack
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GMX Exploit Recovers Funds, but Other Platforms Lose Heavily
Another high-profile attack was against GMX, a decentralized perpetuals exchange, that suffered a $42 million exploit earlier in the month.
In a twist, the hacker returned approximately $40.5 million worth of assets, including 10,000 ETH and 10.5 million FRAX, in one of the rare cases of partial fund recovery in the cryptocurrency hacking space.
BigONE and Woo X Hack
Centralized exchange BigONE, however, lost $28 million, whereas WOO X suffered a $14 million attack.
DeFi platform Future Protocol also contributed to total outflows, with a further $4.2 million stolen.
Collectively, the incidents present a picture of widespread vulnerability in both CeFi and DeFi environments.
Also Read: Crypto Investigator ZachXBT Helps Freeze $5M After Central Bank of Brazil’s $140M Hack
Emerging Threats Highlight the Need for Layered Security Controls
The hacks in July illustrate an alarming development in the methods of cybercriminals, with a trend towards more coordinated, well-funded, and meticulously planned attacks.
While some platforms, like GMX, managed to recover a lot of their losses, the trend overall remains direly concerning.
PeckShield’s report highlights that rising asset prices are attracting increasingly audacious attack campaigns.
Platforms must invest in cutting-edge cybersecurity infrastructure, set up multi-layered protection models, and hold rigorous security training for their employees, among other things.
Without such actions, this menace of crypto hacks stands to grow well into the future.
Also Read: Arcadia Finance Suffers Major Crypto Hack Resulting in a Loss of $2.5 Million