Crypto Hacks Exceed $1 Billion in Record-Breaking First Half of 2026
Crypto projects lost more than $1 billion to hacks during the first half of 2026, while the number of verified exploits reached a record, according to blockchain security firm Blockaid.
Blockaid described the period as the “most-hacked half-year on record” by incident count. Total losses were still lower than a year earlier, when the $1.5 billion Bybit hack sharply increased the overall figure.
North Korea-linked hackers were responsible for the largest share of stolen funds, totaling nearly $600 million. Blockaid attributed the $285 million Drift exploit and the $292 million KelpDAO attack to DPRK-linked groups, with social engineering and compromised multisignature signers emerging as major attack methods.
Ethereum and Solana were the most heavily affected networks, with projects losing about $332 million and $326 million, respectively. Blockaid said Ethereum attracted large smart-contract exploits because of the high-value protocols deployed on the network, while Solana attacks more often targeted signer infrastructure.
Other security firms reported slightly different totals. Immunefi estimated losses of approximately $972 million across 207 incidents, while Quill Audits recorded $935.3 million across 87 DeFi hacks.
Blockaid expects North Korea-linked attacks to continue and warned that AI-related exploits could rise during the second half of 2026. Likely risks include prompt injection, abusive tool use and unauthorized transaction signing by AI agents.
Crypto projects lost more than $1 billion to hacks during the first half of 2026, while the number of verified exploits reached a record, according to blockchain security firm Blockaid.
Blockaid described the period as the “most-hacked half-year on record” by incident count. Total losses were still lower than a year earlier, when the $1.5 billion Bybit hack sharply increased the overall figure.
North Korea-linked hackers were responsible for the largest share of stolen funds, totaling nearly $600 million. Blockaid attributed the $285 million Drift exploit and the $292 million KelpDAO attack to DPRK-linked groups, with social engineering and compromised multisignature signers emerging as major attack methods.
Ethereum and Solana were the most heavily affected networks, with projects losing about $332 million and $326 million, respectively. Blockaid said Ethereum attracted large smart-contract exploits because of the high-value protocols deployed on the network, while Solana attacks more often targeted signer infrastructure.
Other security firms reported slightly different totals. Immunefi estimated losses of approximately $972 million across 207 incidents, while Quill Audits recorded $935.3 million across 87 DeFi hacks.
Blockaid expects North Korea-linked attacks to continue and warned that AI-related exploits could rise during the second half of 2026. Likely risks include prompt injection, abusive tool use and unauthorized transaction signing by AI agents.