- Hackers drained $26.5M from Truebit, moving 8.5K ETH and triggering a sudden 100% collapse in the TRU token price.
- Investigators linked the Truebit attacker to a recent Sparkle exploit, highlighting repeat offenders and growing laundering sophistication.
- Despite lower December losses, 2025 crypto theft hit $3.4B as stablecoins and infrastructure abuse dominated illicit activity.
A major security incident hit Truebit, causing panic across the crypto community. According to PeckShieldAlert, attackers exploited the protocol, stealing approximately $26.5 million in Ethereum (8.5K ETH). The stolen funds moved to two addresses: 0x2735…cE850a and 0xD12f…031a60.
Consequently, TRU, Truebit’s native token, plummeted 100%, trading at $0.072 at the time of reporting. Blockchain security firm PeckShieldAlert added, “Notably, the same exploiter attacked $Sparkle ~12 days ago, obtaining 5 $ETH and depositing them into #TornadoCash.”
Truebit confirmed the breach through its official channels. The protocol said, “Today, we became aware of a security incident involving one or more malicious actors. The affected smart contract is 0x76..2EF2 and we strongly advise the public not to interact with this contract until further notice. We are in contact with law enforcement and taking all available measures to address the situation.” Besides alerting users, the team promised ongoing updates.
Crypto Crime Trends Show Volatility
2025 was a record year for crypto crime, though December showed a 60% drop in losses. PeckShield reported that losses fell from $194.2 million in November to $76 million last month. Only two major incidents occurred, including $50 million stolen via address poisoning and another $27.3 million drained from a wallet due to a private key leak.
Moreover, Chainalysis revealed over $3.4 billion in digital asset theft throughout 2025. North Korean hackers, especially Lazarus, were responsible for $1.5 billion in Bybit’s February hack alone.
Shift in Criminal Strategies and Asset Usage
Illegal crypto activity is evolving rapidly. Chainalysis noted that illicit actors increasingly use infrastructure providers, such as domain registrars and bulletproof hosting, to mask operations. Stablecoins dominate criminal transactions, accounting for 84% of total illicit volume.
Additionally, sanctioned entities received 694% more value last year, pushing illegal crypto transaction totals to $154 billion. Hence, analysts expect criminal activity to rise further in 2026.
