September crypto hacks totaled $766M across 55 incidents, led by Bitget ($387M) and Liquid Network ($320M, partially recovered) breaches with North Korean laundering activity.
Security & Exploits ·
September's cryptocurrency sector experienced a sharp spike in security breaches, with 55 major hacks totaling $766.49 million—a 462% jump from August's $136.3 million in losses. Two incidents dominated the monthly toll: the Bitget compromise at approximately $387 million and the Liquid Network theft at roughly $320 million, though $285 million from the latter was later recovered. Smaller breaches in the same period ranged between $3.15 million and $7.81 million each.
The concentration of losses in just two events underscores a widening disparity in attack scale. When Bitget and Liquid are excluded, the remaining 53 hacks in September aggregated to about $59 million—substantially below August's total loss figure. The Bitget funds are being laundered by North Korea-linked threat actors deploying automated scripts, indicating a coordinated effort to move and obscure the stolen assets.
The 462% month-over-month increase reflects either heightened targeting of major platforms or improved tracking and reporting of incidents. Outstanding questions include the operational status and full recovery timeline for affected platforms, whether additional Liquid funds will be recovered, and whether the North Korean laundering infrastructure remains active or has been disrupted.