June wave of hacks: over 20 crypto projects attacked, Taiko lost $1.7 million
June 2026 is setting a record for the number of hacker attacks on cryptocurrency projects. In the first half of the month alone, more than 20 incidents have been recorded, with one of the most high-profile being the hack of the Taiko project bridge, resulting in losses of approximately $1.7 million.
Taiko Under Attack: Vulnerability in the Verification Mechanism
The Taiko project, an Ethereum-compatible rollup, has faced a serious attack. The vulnerability was discovered in the chain state verification mechanism, allowing an attacker to gain access to the platform's bridges. Experts from Blockaid were the first to warn of the ongoing attack, and the Taiko team confirmed the incident, stating that the bridges are no longer considered secure.
According to the analytical platform Lookonchain, the hacker has already begun withdrawing stolen funds. From one of the wallets, 1.99 million TAIKO tokens (approximately $189,000) were sent to the MEXC exchange. The attacker's address still holds 870.8 ETH — nearly $1.52 million. The Taiko team is actively cooperating with the Security Council and ecosystem partners to contain the incident. Technical and legal measures against the hacker are also being considered.
The project has asked centralized exchanges to freeze deposits of TAIKO tokens until further notice. In an official statement, the team strongly recommended that users "urgently withdraw funds from all bridges deployed on Taiko" and published four attacker addresses for tracking fund movements.
Bridges — The Achilles' Heel of the Industry
Bridges have traditionally been considered one of the most costly vulnerabilities in the cryptocurrency industry, and 2026 is no exception. According to DefiLlama, since the beginning of June, more than 20 hacks of crypto projects have been recorded in the industry. The fate of the stolen assets largely depends on how quickly crypto exchanges can block the flagged wallets.
The public addresses of the attackers allow the community to track fund movements, but this is only part of the solution. The key takeaway: the security of bridges and verification mechanisms must be a priority for all projects involved in cross-chain operations.
Cryptalist Analytical Commentary: The June wave of hacks is an alarming signal for the entire industry. More than 20 attacks in a month point to systemic security issues in DeFi protocols. Bridges remain a weak link, and projects need to implement more robust verification and audit mechanisms, or user trust will be completely undermined.