April saw the highest number of cryptocurrency hacking incidents on record, compounding challenges for an industry grappling with a bear market.
Crypto Hacks Hit A 14-Month High
DeFiLlama, a decentralized finance analytics platform, posted an X chart highlighting a dramatic rise in monthly incidents during April, reaching nearly 30 and far above historical peaks.
Hackers stole $635.24 million in April, the highest monthly total since Bybit’s infamous $1.4 billion exchange heist in February 2025.
The Infamous Cases
The biggest hack of the month was the $290 million exploit of KelpDAO's liquid restaking protocol, followed closely by Drift Protocol's $285 million exploit. Both incidents were linked to North Korean state-sponsored hackers.
In the KelpDAO incident, the hacker targeted a cross-chain bridge, powered by interoperability protocol LayerZero, and robbed restaked Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH).
The Drift Protocol hack wiped out more than half of the Solana-based exchange's total value locked.
Crypto Hacks Spike, DeFi Liquidity Drops
In the first four months of 2026, cryptocurrency hackers stole more than $800 million from cryptocurrency platforms.
The data becomes more alarming when you consider the $30 billion in total value lost within the same time period.
Major tokens, such as Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), have also faced headwinds, falling 13% and 24%, respectively, on a year-to-date basis.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock/FOTOGRINP
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