Today in crypto, infrastructure attacks are responsible for most of the $2.1 billion in crypto stolen this year, a judge denied Ripple and the SEC’s request to reduce a $125 million civil penalty, and Galaxy Digital raised $175 million for its first externally backed venture fund.
Crypto seed phrase, front-end hacks drive record losses in 2025
Infrastructure attacks such as private wallet key exploits and crypto protocol front-end compromises accounted for 80% of the $2.1 billion worth of crypto lost to attacks in the first half of 2025, TRM Labs said in a report on Thursday.
Protocol exploits were another majorly successful attack vector, with compromises such as flash loan and re-entrancy attacks accounting for 12% of crypto losses in the first half of the year.
The losses in the first half of 2025 have surpassed the previous record set in 2022 by roughly 10% and nearly equal the total losses from all of 2024, which TRM Labs said “highlights an increasingly concentrated threat to digital assets.”
The $1.5 billion hack of Bybit in February, an attack linked to North Korea, made up nearly 70% of the total losses so far in 2025, with TRM Labs calling for “multifaceted collaboration” between global law enforcement, financial intelligence units and blockchain intelligence firms.
US judge denies Ripple, SEC joint request to reduce $125M penalty
A US district court denied a joint motion from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple requesting an indicative ruling to reduce a $125 million civil penalty and reverse an order defining primary sales of XRP to institutional investors as securities transactions under Article 5 of the Securities Act.
An indicative ruling allows lower courts like the district court to issue orders for a case that is pending review in the higher appellate court system, subject to approval from the higher court.
In a Thursday filing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Analisa Torres wrote that the court would not undo the earlier rulings, including the $125 million penalty, which were consistent with federal securities laws passed by Congress. Torres argued:
Ultimately, the Court granted in part the SEC’s request for an injunction and a civil penalty because the Court found that 'Ripple’s willingness to push the boundaries of the [Summary Judgment] Order evinces a likelihood that it will eventually, if it has not already, cross the line.' None of this has changed — and the parties hardly pretend that it has.
Nevertheless, they now claim that it is in the public interest to cut the Civil Penalty by sixty percent and vacate the permanent injunction entered less than a year ago," Torres wrote.
The parties could reduce the penalty and circumvent the lower court's initial rulings only through the congressionally stipulated appeals process and not by directly petitioning the lower court to reverse its orders, Torres wrote.
Galaxy Digital raises $175 million in first fund to expand crypto investments
Galaxy Digital has closed a $175 million venture fund, its first with outside capital, as the company ramps up plans to invest in early-stage crypto startups.
The fund, which exceeded its $150 million target, marks the first time Galaxy has accepted outside capital. Until now, the company had relied solely on its own balance sheet for venture investments, according to a Thursday press release.
The fund targets high-growth sectors such as stablecoins, tokenization, and payments, as well as the software layers that support them.
“We’re seeing an acceleration of adoption from both institutions and retail users globally—especially around use cases like payments, capital markets, and financial services more broadly,” general partner Mike Giampapa commented.
Founder and CEO Mike Novogratz said the company has been able to close its first venture fund above target during one of the toughest periods for crypto fundraising.
“With deep roots in onchain markets and blockchain infrastructure, we’re committed to backing founders and startups building real-world use cases that are shaping the next chapter of crypto adoption,” he added.