Cryptocurrency hacks reach $1.26 billion in third quarter

Cryptocurrency hacks resulted in approximately $1.26 billion stolen during the third quarter of 2026, marking a significant period of loss despite a 40% rise in Bitcoin's value. September emerged as the most severe month of the year, with losses estimated between $766 million and $772.4 million.

A vast majority of these losses were concentrated in two major incidents: Bitget, which saw approximately $387.5 million stolen from its hot wallets, and Liquid Network, which suffered losses totaling roughly $319 million due to the fraudulent creation of L-BTC. Together, these two events accounted for nearly 92% of the initial reported losses for September.

Security analysis from CertiK indicates that code and infrastructure vulnerabilities were responsible for 95% of the damages in September, totaling $733.8 million across 58 incidents. While phishing remained relatively low at $6.2 million, the overall scale of exploits has increased compared to previous quarters. Total losses since January 2025 have reached $2.68 billion, while insurance capacity in the sector has declined by 20% over the past year.