The crypto industry has set a grim record: the number of hacks in the second quarter of 2026 reached an all-time high.
The second quarter of 2026 proved to be a real test for the crypto industry: 83 protocol hacking incidents were recorded — an absolute anti-record for the number of attacks in the history of observations. The total damage from these attacks amounted to $755.3 million, indicating a worrying trend of increasing threats, although the amount of losses did not reach the peak values of previous years.
The most high-profile events were the hack of KelpDAO for $293 million and the exploit of Drift Protocol for $280 million. Notably, in the cross-chain bridge segment, damage reached $351 million, with 38% of this amount attributed to the LayerZero OFT bridge incident, which was directly linked to the attack on KelpDAO. Another 37% of losses were caused by compromised administrative access and token price manipulation. Theft of private keys, while remaining a serious threat, accounted for only 5.66% of the total damage.
Despite the record number of attacks, this period was not the most costly in terms of financial losses. The record for the cost of hacks is still held by the fourth quarter of 2020, when losses amounted to $3.56 billion. As Dmitry Tarasyuk, Product Director at CORE3 and CER.live, notes, the increase in the number of incidents with a decrease in total damage is explained by a reduction in overall liquidity in the ecosystem: the total value locked (TVL) fell from $164 billion to approximately $73 billion. This makes attacks less large-scale but more frequent.
Tarasyuk also highlights the gap between the pace of protocol development and the maturity of their risk management systems. As an example, he cites projects using a "three out of six" multi-signature scheme but storing three keys on a single laptop — a clear sign of insufficient security. In May, THORChain developers confirmed a hack of the cross-chain protocol for $10 million, after which the protocol's operation was suspended, and on June 8, unknown attackers compromised the wallets of the Humanity Protocol project, causing $31 million in damage.
Expert commentary: The record number of hacks with relatively low damage is an alarming signal for the entire industry. It indicates a systemic problem: many projects rush to launch a product, neglecting fundamental security principles. While TVL is falling, hackers are switching to smaller but more numerous targets, and this requires developers not just to strengthen protection, but to implement proactive measures such as regular audits and multi-level access control systems.