The crypto industry set an anti-record for the number of hacks in the second quarter of 2026.
The second quarter of 2026 became a true nightmare for the crypto community: 83 successful attacks on protocols were recorded — an absolute historical high in terms of the number of incidents. The total damage, according to preliminary estimates, amounted to $755.3 million. However, in terms of loss volume, this period did not break the record — the most expensive remains the fourth quarter of 2020 with $3.56 billion in losses.
The key events of the quarter were the KelpDAO hack for $293 million and the Drift Protocol exploit, which cost $280 million. These two incidents together account for more than 75% of all losses. The situation in the cross-chain bridge segment looks particularly alarming: losses here reached $351 million, with 38% of that amount attributed to the attack on the LayerZero OFT bridge, which is linked to the KelpDAO hack. Another 37% of losses in this segment were caused by compromised administrative access and token price manipulation. Private key theft, contrary to expectations, accounted for only 5.66%.
The increase in the number of attacks amid a decrease in total damage volume is a symptom I have been discussing with colleagues for several quarters. This is a direct consequence of reduced liquidity in the ecosystem: the total value locked (TVL) fell from $164 billion to approximately $73 billion. As Dmitry Tarasyuk from CORE3 and CER.live rightly noted, a gap has formed in the industry between the pace of protocol development and the maturity of their risk management systems. A striking example is projects using a "three out of six" multi-signature scheme but storing three keys on one laptop. This is not negligence but a systemic problem.
In May, THORChain developers confirmed a hack of their cross-chain protocol for $10 million, after which they suspended operations: trading, liquidity pool operations, and other "sensitive" actions became unavailable. And on June 8, hackers compromised Humanity Protocol wallets, causing damage of approximately $31 million.
My analysis: The current situation resembles a "silent epidemic" — not isolated giant hacks, but a constant stream of small attacks that collectively result in a record number of incidents. This is a signal for investors: it is time to reconsider their approaches to security, especially regarding cross-chain bridges and protocols with low TVL. Without fundamental improvements in key management practices and smart contract auditing in the coming quarters, we risk seeing even darker figures.