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2026 crypto hack surge (H1-Q3)

Updated 12 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

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2026-10-03 09:20 UTC → 2026-10-04 07:23 UTC · added ~~removed~~

2026 crypto hack surge ~~(H1-H2)~~ (H1-Q3)

The first half of 2026 saw a record rise in cryptocurrency-related attacks, with 207 incidents resulting in approximately $972 million stolen. North Korean-affiliated groups were major contributors, responsible for roughly 66% of stolen funds. By August 2026, the landscape shifted toward more frequent but smaller-scale attacks, with monthly losses dropping to approximately $136.3 million. However, this trend reversed sharply in September 2026. According to CertiK, September marked the highest monthly cryptocurrency losses for the year, with security incidents totaling approximately $768.5 million. While there were nearly 100 security incidents, the vast majority of the financial damage was driven by two major events: a breach at Bitget resulting in $387.5 million in losses after attackers compromised its wallet system, and an exploit at Liquid Network due to a code vulnerability, causing $318.7 million in losses. Together, these two incidents accounted for roughly 92% of the month’s total losses. Further details regarding the Bitget breach indicate that attackers exploited a third-party security product zero-day vulnerability, using high-level internal credentials to issue fraudulent withdrawal commands across 11 different blockchains. Chainalysis has attributed the Bitget hack to threat actors linked to North Korea. Recovery efforts mitigated some of the impact, with CertiK reporting that $273.2 million was recovered or frozen, reducing net losses for the month to $495.3 million. Year-to-date, CertiK data indicates 656 security incidents totaling $2.68 billion in losses, with North Korean-linked thefts surpassing $1 billion for the year. By the end of the third quarter of 2026, total cryptocurrency hacks reached approximately $1.26 billion stolen. September remained the most severe month, with losses estimated between $766 million and $772.4 million. 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.

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