Crypto hack wave in Q2 2026 totals $755 million loss

The second quarter of 2026 recorded a record 83 crypto‑hacking incidents, the highest number of any quarter since data collection began. The cumulative damage was estimated at roughly $755 million, far below the $3.56 billion lost in the fourth quarter of 2020.

The two largest exploits were the KelpDAO attack on April 18, which siphoned about $293 million via a vulnerability in the rsETH‑adapter bridge contract, and the Drift Protocol breach, which netted roughly $280 million using a malicious “durable nonce” technique on Solana. Together they accounted for more than three‑quarters of the total loss.

Bridge exploits proved the most destructive attack vector, responsible for about 46% of the overall damage ($351 million). The LayerZero‑OFT bridge exploit alone contributed over 38% of the quarter’s losses. Analysts noted that the lower total loss, despite the surge in incidents, stemmed from a reduced total value locked in DeFi protocols, which fell from about $164 billion to $73 billion during the period.