DeFi security partner Haseeb Qureshi says 2026 hack losses below 2025 levels

Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi reported that the annualized value of DeFi hacks in 2026 is about $1.89 billion, lower than the 2025 figure. To date the sector has lost roughly $986 million, keeping total losses within historical ranges.

While the number of incidents has risen, the median loss per attack continues to shrink. Attackers are increasingly targeting abandoned forks, low‑liquidity yield aggregators and other small, poorly defended projects, resulting in more headlines but less financial damage. Larger protocols have hardened their defenses through formal verification, bug‑bounty programs, timelocks and regulatory‑driven audits, making them less attractive to sophisticated actors.

The data challenges earlier warnings that advanced AI models would trigger a “hack apocalypse” in DeFi. So far, AI‑enabled exploits have not produced a step‑change in loss severity, and the sector’s risk profile appears to be improving, though smaller projects remain vulnerable.