Cryptocurrency Hacking Down 46% in First Half...Security Industry Says "Cannot Guarantee Safety Yet"

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The amount of damage from cryptocurrency hacking plummeted by 46.8% in the first half of the year. However, the security industry warned, "The conclusion that it has become safer is wrong." Hacking incidents more than doubled from 83 to 207 cases, and with North Korean-linked hackers at the center of major attacks, more sophisticated and destructive attacks are spreading behind the illusion of reduced damages.

According to the cryptocurrency specialized media Cointelegraph on July 6 (local time), the cryptocurrency security company CertiK announced that the damage from cryptocurrency hacking in the first half of 2026 recorded $1.32 billion, a 46.8% decrease compared to the same period last year. However, the damage in the second quarter surged by 59% from the previous quarter, reaching $807.5 million.

Attack methods also changed rapidly. In the first quarter, phishing accounted for the largest share of damages at $508.2 million, but in the second quarter, wallet breaches emerged as the largest attack vector. Hacking damages to KelpDAO and Drift Protocol accounted for more than 70% of the total damage in the second quarter and were presumed to have been carried out by North Korean government-backed hackers.

CertiK stated, "If you only look at the headline that damages have decreased by almost 50%, you might think the ecosystem has become much safer, but the data does not support such a conclusion." The explanation is that the total figure was significantly higher because the damage amount in the first half of the previous year included the $1.4 billion Bybit hacking incident, the largest in cryptocurrency history. CertiK warned that excluding the Bybit incident, attack activities have structurally increased compared to last year, and individual attacks are "more targeted and financially more destructive."

TRM Labs' analysis also sounded a similar warning. Hacking incidents in the first half more than doubled from 83 last year to 207 this year, marking an all-time high for a half-year period. Smart contract attacks accounted for 125 cases, or 60% of all incidents. TRM Labs stated, "The decrease in damage does not mean that attackers' capabilities have weakened, but rather that there was no other theft incident of record-breaking scale."

CertiK pointed out that private key and multi-signature wallet management remain "the most critical security vulnerabilities" for attackers. It urged protocols and institutions with significant on-chain assets to strengthen overall private key management, from hardware security to multi-signature management and geographical dispersion of signer locations. The conflicting figures of a 46.8% decrease in damages and 207 incidents demonstrate CertiK's warning that cryptocurrency security threats have not disappeared, but rather that attack methods have become more sophisticated.

[Key Article Summary]

-In the first half of 2026, the amount of damage from cryptocurrency hacking recorded $1.32 billion, a 46.8% decrease compared to the same period last year.

-Hacking incidents more than doubled from 83 to 207 cases, with smart contract attacks accounting for 60% of the total.

-CertiK warned that the reduction in damages does not mean an improvement in ecosystem safety, and that attacks have become more targeted and financially destructive.

*Disclaimer: This article is for investment reference only, and we are not responsible for investment losses based on it. The content should be interpreted for informational purposes only.*