Crypto Hacks Continue to Plague Industry, $14.27 Billion Lost Since 2016

Crypto hacks and exploits have been a persistent issue in the industry since 2016, with over $14.27 billion lost to date. The most costly year on record is 2022, with losses reaching $2.77 billion, narrowly surpassing 2021's total of $2.66 billion.

According to CoinGecko's analysis, 2026 has seen a significant number of hacking incidents, with 164 reported through early August alone. This is the highest number of incidents for any full year prior.

One notable example from this year is the Kelp exploit in April, which caused structural damage throughout DeFi. Attackers found a weakness in Kelp's LayerZero bridge and minted approximately $293 million of unbacked rsETH, dumping it into Aave as collateral to borrow real assets. This led to a decline in Aave's TVL from $25.93 billion on April 17 to $14.40 billion by July 21, a 44.5% drop.

Additionally, hacks have also had a significant impact on governance tokens, with holders losing money due to market reaction even if they were not directly exposed to the exploit itself. For example, Step Finance's token lost 99.4% of its value after the protocol became insolvent following an exploit.