The crypto industry set an anti-record for the number of hacks in the second quarter of 2026.
The second quarter of 2026 was truly historic for the crypto industry, but not in a positive sense. Analysts recorded 83 successful attacks on crypto protocols — an absolute record for the number of incidents in the entire history of observations. The total damage from these hacks is estimated at $755.3 million.
The largest episodes were attacks on KelpDAO ($293 million) and Drift Protocol ($280 million). The cross-chain bridge segment proved particularly vulnerable: damage here amounted to $351 million, with 38% of that sum attributed to the hack of the LayerZero OFT bridge, which is directly linked to the KelpDAO attack. Another 37% of losses came from compromised administrative access and token price manipulation. Theft of private keys, contrary to expectations, accounted for only 5.66% of total losses.
Despite the record number of incidents, this period lags behind the fourth quarter of 2020 in terms of financial losses, when damage reached $3.56 billion. This paradoxical situation is explained by fundamental changes in the ecosystem. The total value locked (TVL) has decreased from $164 billion to approximately $73 billion, significantly reducing the "fat" targets for hackers.
However, the alarming signal is not so much the number of attacks, but their systemic nature. Many protocols, striving for a quick launch, neglect basic security principles. For example, some projects use a "three out of six" multisignature scheme but store three keys on a single laptop — this is a gross error that nullifies all cryptographic protection.
In May, the THORChain team confirmed a $10 million hack, after which they were forced to suspend the protocol's operations, including trading and liquidity pool activities. And on June 8, hackers compromised Humanity Protocol wallets, causing damage of approximately $31 million.
Cryptalist Expert Opinion: The increase in attacks amid declining liquidity is a wake-up call for the entire industry. Hackers have shifted from hunting "whales" to mass phishing of small but numerous targets. This means security must become not an option, but a foundation for any protocol. As long as teams store three keys on one laptop, we will see new anti-records.