Analysts at Immunefi have summarized the results of the first half of 2026: the crypto industry lost approximately $972 million due to 207 incidents related to hacks and exploits. Despite the number of attacks reaching a record level, the total damage was significantly lower than in the same period of 2025. This confirms the long-term trend of decreasing average losses per incident.
The reduction in losses is particularly noticeable in the DeFi sector. Compared to the peak values of 2022, when losses amounted to $2.62 billion, the current figure has decreased by 74% — to $680.3 million. Key factors driving this progress include the active implementation of bug bounty programs, more thorough security audits, and an increase in the number of qualified specialists in the field of smart contract protection.
However, the threat landscape has undergone structural changes. The main risks have shifted from classic smart contract vulnerabilities to more complex and elusive attack vectors: infrastructure failures, private key compromises, and errors in cross-chain configurations. This indicates that attackers are adapting, moving from simple exploits to more targeted and technically sophisticated attacks at the infrastructure level.
My expert opinion: The reduction in total damage is certainly a positive signal for the market, but it should not be a cause for complacency. The record number of incidents indicates that attackers are not giving up, but are simply changing their tactics. The industry needs to shift its focus from protecting only smart contracts to comprehensive security of the entire infrastructure, including key management and cross-chain protocols. Otherwise, we risk facing a new surge of major losses, but on a different front.