In the first six months of 2026, the crypto industry lost $1.32 billion due to security incidents, a 46.8% year-on-year decline, according to CertiK. However, the comparison is skewed by Bybit’s $1.4 billion break-up in 2025: without this incident, the decline would have looked less significant. In the second quarter, losses increased by 59% to reach $807.5 million, with attacks on KelpDAO and Drift Protocol accounting for more than 70% of the quarterly damage.

Analysts noted the change in attack vectors: if the first quarter was led by phishing, then in the second - compromise of wallets. Major incidents often combined social engineering and the capture of administrative procedures, rather than simply stealing keys. CertiK recommended strengthening hardware protection, signature management and fund access procedures.

TRM Labs estimated the losses at $972 million, recording a record 207 incidents for the first half of the year. About 60% of the attacks were to breach smart contracts, but the main damage (76%) was caused by infrastructure compromises. Both companies link the attacks on KelpDAO and Drift to North Korean groups responsible for ~$643 million in stolen funds.