Crypto Chaos: $244M Lost as North Korea and Cetus Collide in May

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Well, hold onto your keyboards, folks—the crypto industry took a nosedive into chaos with over $244 million lost in May 2025. Yep, that’s a lot of digital pennies slipping through the cracks, according to the ever-trusty blockchain security firm PeckShield.

And just to keep us on our toes, this eye-watering figure is a 39% drop from April’s $402 million catastrophe. Looks like hackers are taking a breather—probably because they’re busy planning their next big scam. 🧐

Crypto Hackers Now Playing the Victim Card – Wait, What?

PeckShield’s data shows the bad guys didn’t just dip their toes—they dove headfirst across protocols, causing everything from minor hiccups to total wipeouts.

The grand finale was Cetus Protocol, a Sui blockchain-based decentralized exchange, which somehow managed to lose a staggering $223 million in a single sneaky attack. Talk about a bad day at the digital office. 💸

After the breach, Cetus decided to play nice and worked with Sui validators to freeze some of the stolen loot—roughly $162 million, which is about 71% of the total. Because nothing says “we’re sorry” like locking up your own stolen funds. 🛡️

Good news: Cetus’s plan to get the frozen cash back was approved. So, they’re gearing up to upgrade smart contracts, restore liquidity, and maybe, just maybe, make a comeback. We’re keeping our fingers crossed—though probably not our actual crypto wallets.

Meanwhile, over in Ethereum land, Cork Protocol also got a not-so-friendly visit from hackers, who stole nearly $12 million worth of wstETH and weETH. Just enough to make you rethink your investment choices. Cork paused everything—better safe than sorry, right? 🛑

And just when you thought the chaos was enough—cue ominous music—the report from PeckShield throws North Korea into the spotlight again, claiming these state-sponsored hackers swiped $5.2 million from a lone crypto trader. Because, why not? 😅

This has stirred up fears of bombastic government hacks, especially after February’s $1.5 billion Bybit exploit—because what’s a month without a little geopolitical spice?

Plus, there was a sneaky $2.2 million heist on Mobius Token contracts on BNB Chain—an attacker drained 28.5 million MBU tokens using just one smart contract. Talk about using your inside voice.

In all this chaos, Tornado Cash continues to be the shady hero of money laundering, quietly helping stolen funds disappear faster than your last diet resolution. 🚀

Yu Xian, co-founder of SlowMist, threw in some advice for the victims: Make your wallet addresses public or at least partially censored. Apparently, it helps the police and keeps innocent users from being mistaken for hackers. Just what everyone wants—more exposure. 📢

He warned: “Some hackers now love to frame others. You not only suffer the pain of losing your funds but also get dragged into a police interrogation—fun times!”

“Some hackers nowadays like to frame others. You will not only suffer the pain of having your funds stolen, but also the subsequent cooperation with law enforcement investigations… It is not pleasant to be treated as a suspect,” he added.

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2025-06-01 18:09