The crypto market ends the second quarter of 2026 under extreme pressure. About 775 million dollars were stolen over 85 incidents, a record in terms of frequency. Two major attacks accounted
The crypto market ends the second quarter of 2026 under extreme pressure. About 775 million dollars were stolen over 85 incidents, a record in terms of frequency. Two major attacks accounted for most of the losses, while DeFi saw its total value locked drop near 70 billion dollars.
The second quarter recorded 85 crypto incidents, compared to 36 during the first three months of the year. This surge places the period at the top of the historical ranking by number of attacks. Since January, crypto hacks have already affected 121 protocols or platforms.
The cumulative losses for the quarter reached about 775 million dollars. For the entire year, nearly 942 million dollars would have been stolen. The figure is heavy, but it does not surpass certain financial records from previous cycles.
The distinction matters. The second quarter of 2026 is not necessarily the most costly in history in dollars. It appears mainly as the most intense. Attacks are multiplying, even when each does not produce a huge loss.
This frequency establishes a climate of permanent insecurity. Users no longer face an isolated incident. They see alerts chain up, withdrawals increase, and trust crack week after week.
Your 1st cryptos with BitgetThis link uses an affiliate program.Drift Protocol and KelpDAO alone represent nearly 577 million dollars of losses. The two attacks occurred in April, only a few weeks apart. They thus concentrate the majority of stolen funds in the second quarter.
Drift Protocol lost about 285 million dollars. According to investigators, the operation was based on several months of social engineering. The attackers would have gained the trust of project members before obtaining administrative authorizations hidden in apparently ordinary transactions.
This method shows an evolution of crypto risk. Code is no longer the only target. Hackers attack teams, internal procedures, and people capable of validating sensitive operations.
The KelpDAO attack followed on April 18. About 292 million dollars of rsETH were fraudulently created or transferred after compromising a verification infrastructure linked to the LayerZero bridge.
In this case, the problem did not come directly from a classic flaw in a smart contract. The attackers manipulated off-chain elements used to confirm messages between networks. The system then accepted an operation that should never have been validated.
The total value locked in DeFi dropped from about 115 billion dollars in January to nearly 70 billion at the end of June. This represents a decline close to 39% in just six months. Hacks alone do not explain all this decline. The drop in crypto prices mechanically reduces the dollar value of deposited assets. Investors also move their capital towards stablecoins, tokenized products, or less exposed strategies.
However, the repetition of attacks accelerates withdrawals. After the KelpDAO incident, Aave’s TVL fell sharply. Users preferred to withdraw their funds rather than wait to know the real extent of the risk.
The situation remains less brutal than during the 2021-2022 crisis. The crypto market now has more stablecoins, derivatives, and tokenized real-world assets. Capital therefore does not always disappear. It moves to other segments.
However, this diversification does not protect all networks. Among the major DeFi ecosystems, only Tron and Hyperliquid would have recorded growth since January. Several other chains show very significant declines.
The second quarter does not mark the disappearance of DeFi. However, it imposes a stricter examination of its foundations. Without better protection of teams and infrastructures, each new product also increases the attack surface. International pressure, notably the G7 response, shows that crypto security now goes beyond just the technological framework.
