Crypto Exchange Hacks: A Growing Risk in the Market
Exchange hacks have become a routine risk in the crypto market, with over 200 incidents reported in the first six months of 2026 resulting in losses crossing $970 million.
The breach at Coinsbuy in August 2026 is a prime example. Attackers spent days inside the system before launching the real attack across two blockchains within minutes, testing the system with a tiny five-cent transaction beforehand.
Once a breach is underway, stolen funds don't just sit in one wallet. Attackers move assets through several addresses within minutes to confuse trackers, then route them through cross-chain swap tools and no-KYC exchanges that don't ask questions.
The recovery rates after an exchange hack are low; sometimes under 1% of stolen funds ever make it back to users. This is why traders should not treat any exchange as a long-term storage account, but rather keep only what they're actively trading on the platform and move the rest to cold storage.