The second quarter of 2026 set a record for the number of hacks in the crypto industry: 83 incidents and $755 million in damages.
Analysts have recorded a worrying trend: in the second quarter of 2026, the number of crypto protocol hacks reached an all-time high of 83 incidents. This is an absolute anti-record in the history of observations. The total damage from these attacks amounted to $755.3 million, which, however, is not the highest figure in terms of loss volume.
The most significant attacks were the hack of the KelpDAO protocol for $293 million and the Drift Protocol exploit for $280 million. In the cross-chain bridge segment, damage reached $351 million, with 38% of that amount attributed to the LayerZero OFT bridge incident, which was linked to the KelpDAO attack. Another 37% of losses in this segment were due to compromised administrative access and token price manipulation. Theft of private keys accounted for only 5.66% of the total damage.
Despite the record number of incidents, the second quarter of 2026 was not the most expensive in terms of loss volume. The record is still held by the fourth quarter of 2020, when damage from hacks amounted to $3.56 billion. This indicates a change in the structure of attacks: instead of a few large exploits, we are seeing a constant stream of smaller but more frequent incidents.
Experts attribute the increase in the number of hacks amid a decrease in total damage to a reduction in overall liquidity in the ecosystem. The total value locked (TVL) has fallen from $164 billion to approximately $73 billion, making large targets less attractive. However, this does not reduce the risks: the gap between the pace of protocol development and the maturity of their risk management systems is becoming increasingly apparent. An example is projects using a "three-of-six" multi-signature scheme while storing three keys on one laptop — this is a gross security error.
In May, THORChain developers confirmed a hack of the cross-chain protocol for $10 million, after which they suspended the platform's operations. And on June 8, unknown attackers compromised wallets associated with the Humanity Protocol project, causing damage of approximately $31 million.
My analysis: The record number of hacks amid a decrease in total damage is a worrying signal for the entire industry. It indicates that attackers are adapting to new conditions, focusing on less protected but more numerous targets. Protocols urgently need to reconsider their security approaches, especially in the areas of key management and administration, otherwise we risk seeing even higher figures in the future.