A recent report highlights that centralized cryptocurrency exchanges (CEXs) remain the most targeted and vulnerable entry points for crypto laundering and theft in 2025, accounting for 54.26% of total losses this year, which exceeds losses from token contract exploits and personal wallet breaches.
The report emphasizes that traditional ticket-based compliance and monitoring systems used by many exchanges are no longer effective against increasingly sophisticated, real-time laundering methods. Instead, CEXs must adopt real-time, automated detection and response systems that can identify and halt illicit transactions within minutes, matching the speed at which hackers launder stolen assets.
Additional context from 2025 shows that over $3.1 billion in crypto losses due to hacks and exploits have occurred in the first half of the year, with access control vulnerabilities—often exploited at centralized exchanges—being the primary cause of these breaches.
Hackers are increasingly targeting human and procedural weaknesses, such as insider threats and phishing, not only technical flaws.
So, real-time crypto laundering exploits demonstrate that centralized exchanges are critical security weak points in the crypto ecosystem.
To mitigate these risks, exchanges must implement rapid, automated AML and monitoring solutions, supported by regulatory pressure to increase accountability and proactive crime prevention measures.
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