Crypto Hacks Surge in 2026: Over $1 Billion Stolen in 68 Incidents, Experts Alarmed

Cryptocurrency remains a high-risk investment, but the surge in hacks this year has even seasoned industry veterans alarmed. In 2026 alone, hackers have stolen a total of $1.08 billion across at least 68 incidents.

Three major thefts dominate the losses, with two occurring in April. The situation has worsened in recent weeks, with 30 incidents recorded so far in the month—averaging more than one hack per day. Just this past week, Protos identified 13 individual losses, including three on the same day this article was written. While most were smaller in scale, they collectively amounted to over $11 million in losses.

To track these incidents, Protos has compiled a crypto hack catalog covering 2026, with entries generally including losses of $100,000 or more. The tracker is available in the Live section of Protos’ website.

"There has been a six-figure hack on Ethereum basically every six hours for the last week. This is crazy." — deebeez (@deeberiroz), April 28, 2026

Security firms, including specialized crypto auditors, are struggling to keep pace with the relentless wave of attacks. On Wednesday, teams from Alchemix, Trading Strategy, and Yearn Finance criticized PeckShield for issuing "reckless" alerts that unfairly blamed their projects for losses linked to insecure third-party contracts.

Even industry experts are not immune. A business development manager at CertiK, a crypto audit firm with a tarnished reputation, warned on X that his Telegram account was hijacked by scammers who used "fake meeting links" to spread malware.

AI and Increased Visibility Fueling Hack Surge

The rise of AI-powered tools is widely seen as a key factor in the recent uptick of hacks, particularly those targeting smaller or outdated smart contracts. While the constant stream of incidents may reflect a genuine increase in activity, it could also be due to greater visibility enabled by AI.

AI not only helps hackers identify and exploit vulnerabilities but also enhances researchers’ ability to monitor blockchain data and highlight suspicious transactions. According to Pigi Finance, which analyzed five years of hack data, an estimated 3.37% of DeFi assets are lost annually to protocol exploits—excluding bridge hacks, exchange collapses, wallet drains, and phishing attacks. The analysis focuses solely on "pure protocol-level risk."

As security measures improve, particularly among projects managing significant funds, attackers are shifting their focus to other targets. Notably, neither of April’s two largest hacks—Drift Protocol’s $280 million loss nor Kelp DAO’s $290 million loss—were the result of smart contract exploits.

Experts Warn of Evolving Threat Landscape

Mitchell Amador of ImmuneFi, analyzing a similar timeframe, noted that "protocol security has improved dramatically." Despite this progress, the overall threat remains severe, with hackers constantly adapting their tactics to exploit new weaknesses in the rapidly evolving crypto ecosystem.