June 2026: Wave of crypto project hacks exceeds 20 incidents — Taiko becomes the latest victim
The beginning of summer 2026 was marked by an alarming trend: the number of successful attacks on cryptocurrency projects is rapidly increasing. According to analytical platforms, more than 20 hacks have been recorded since June 1, and this list continues to grow. The latest high-profile victim is the Ethereum-compatible rollup project Taiko, which lost approximately $1.7 million due to a critical vulnerability in the network state verification mechanism. Details of the Attack on Taiko In the morning, experts from Blockaid published a warning about an ongoing attack on Taiko's cross-chain bridges. Project representatives promptly confirmed the incident in a security report, stating that the platform's bridges are no longer reliable. Analysts from Lookonchain have already tracked the movement of funds: the hacker transferred 1.99 million TAIKO tokens (approximately $189,000) to the MEXC exchange. The attacker's address also holds 870.8 ETH — nearly $1.52 million. The Taiko team is working together with the Security Council and ecosystem partners to contain the incident. Both technical and legal measures against the hacker are being considered. The project has asked centralized exchanges to freeze deposits of TAIKO tokens until further notice. Bridges — the Industry's Achilles' Heel Bridges have traditionally been considered one of the most costly vulnerabilities in the cryptocurrency industry, and 2026 is no exception. Taiko is just one of more than 20 projects affected in June. The public addresses of the attackers have already been published, allowing the movement of funds to be tracked. The fate of the stolen assets largely depends on how quickly cryptocurrency exchanges can block the flagged wallets. Expert Opinion from Cryptalist The current wave of hacks is not just a technical failure of individual teams, but a systemic problem for the entire industry. Investors should double their attention to smart contracts and bridge mechanisms, as they are becoming the primary targets for attackers. Without a fundamental reassessment of security approaches, we risk seeing even larger losses in the coming months.