Crypto Hacks Surpass $1 Billion as North Korea-Linked Hackers Strike

Crypto hacks have surpassed $1 billion in losses during the first half of 2026, marking the most-hacked period on record by incident count. Blockaid reported that over 212 hacks resulted in these significant losses.

Although total losses were lower than in 2025, the frequency of attacks increased significantly, with an average theft value decreasing to $4.7 million per incident. North Korea-linked hackers accounted for almost $600 million in stolen funds, responsible for two major April attacks on Drift Protocol and KelpDAO.

The Drift Protocol exploit caused $285 million in losses, while the KelpDAO attack removed $292 million, representing more than half of the half-year total. The report noted that attackers drained Drift in about 12 minutes after compromising multisig signers through LinkedIn social engineering aimed at key holders.

Ethereum projects lost $332 million, while Solana projects lost $326 million, placing both networks ahead of every other blockchain in total losses. Code exploits caused most Ethereum incidents due to its hosting of high-value restaking platforms, stablecoins, and decentralized exchanges.