Crypto Exploits Hit Record High in H1 2026 with $1 Billion in Losses

Crypto exploits have reached a record high in the first half of 2026, with 212 incidents confirmed across various projects. According to Blockaid's report, this is a significant increase from last year, with H1 '26 producing 3.4 times more verified incidents.

The two largest losses occurred in April and accounted for over $577 million of the total $1 billion in exploits. KelpDAO suffered $292 million in losses after its cross-chain messaging was compromised through a bridge trigger breach. The Drift protocol saw $285 million drained via a multisig compromise in under 12 minutes.

Privileged key misuse was the most common cause of exploits, responsible for over $790 million in losses. AI agents are emerging as a major threat, with attackers increasingly targeting them. Onchain protocols and cross-chain bridges were also hit hard, with $524 million and $372 million in exploits respectively.