Crypto Hacks Surge to $1.32B in First Half of 2026, Access Control Exploits Lead

The cryptocurrency industry experienced a significant surge in security breaches during the first half of 2026, with 224 hacking incidents resulting in total losses of approximately $1.32 billion, according to a report from blockchain analytics firm Onchain Lens.

The figures represent a sharp increase compared to the same period last year and highlight persistent vulnerabilities in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and cross-chain infrastructure.

Access control exploits dominated the attack vectors, accounting for over 60% of total losses. These attacks typically involve attackers gaining unauthorized administrative privileges or exploiting privilege escalation flaws to drain protocol treasuries.