Crypto market loses $1.3 billion in first half of 2026 after 344 attacks, report shows

A CertiK study covering the first six months of 2026 identified 344 security incidents in the cryptocurrency sector, resulting in a total loss of about $1.3 billion. The loss is lower than the $2.47 billion recorded for the same period in 2025, despite a slight month‑to‑month rise in incident count. Compromised wallets accounted for the largest monetary loss ($444.5 million from 33 cases), followed by phishing attacks (63 cases, $366.3 million) and code bugs (204 cases, $151.6 million). The report highlights several high‑value hacks, including the Kelp DAO breach ($291.3 million), Drift Protocol ($280 million) and a phishing incident that cost $284.7 million.

In a separate incident, a trader on the Ethereum network lost roughly $2 million when a back‑run attack on a Uniswap V3 liquidity pool redirected the trade to an illiquid pool, inflating the price about 120‑fold. The block builder Titan Builder earned about $1.8 million from the arbitrage. The case underscores the growing risk of MEV (miner extractable value) exploits and the need for traders to verify transaction routes before signing.

Both pieces illustrate a shift toward more targeted, high‑value attacks, with North Korean hackers singled out as a significant threat actor in the broader crypto ecosystem.