The first half of 2026 showed a significant decrease in financial losses from attacks on crypto projects. According to my analysis of data from the Immunefi platform, the total amount of losses amounted to approximately $972 million, which is tens of percent lower than the figures for the same period in 2025. At the same time, the number of recorded incidents reached a record level — 207 cases.
Key takeaway: the damage per attack continues to decrease. This indicates an increase in the effectiveness of security measures, but at the same time points to a rise in the number of small but targeted hacks. The average damage per incident was approximately $4.7 million, significantly lower than historical highs.
DeFi Sector: Sharp Drop in Losses
The most impressive dynamics are observed in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. Losses in this sector plummeted by 74% compared to the peak year of 2022 — from $2.62 billion to $680.3 million. I attribute this decline to three factors: the active implementation of bug bounty programs, more thorough code audits, and an increase in the number of qualified security specialists.
Shift in Threat Vectors
The nature of attacks has undergone qualitative changes. While the main vector used to be vulnerabilities in smart contracts, risks have now shifted towards infrastructure failures, compromise of private keys, and errors in cross-chain configurations. This is logical: as project teams close classic code loopholes, hackers switch to more complex but less protected areas — for example, bridges between blockchains and key management systems.
My expert conclusion: The market is becoming more mature, but combating new types of threats requires projects to implement not only technical but also organizational solutions. Investors should pay attention to projects with public bug bounty programs and regular audits — this is the best indicator of security maturity in 2026.