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CertiK exposes hidden truth behind crypto's 50% loss drop
Phishing and wallet compromises drove $1.32B in H1 crypto losses. CertiK warns the real threat is rising as targeted attacks replace random exploits.
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Crypto-related losses fell 46.8% year over year to $1.32 billion during the first half of 2026. Blockchain security firm CertiK warned the decline does not indicate a safer crypto market.
CertiK's H1 2026 security report said the lower loss figure is heavily influenced by the absence of an event on the scale of the $1.4 billion Bybit exploit recorded in the same period last year. The firm said a simple comparison of headline numbers creates a misleading impression because attackers are carrying out fewer random campaigns and instead executing more targeted operations that inflict heavier damage per incident.
Breaking down the first-half figures, CertiK reported that phishing remained the leading cause of crypto theft during the first quarter, resulting in losses of $508.2 million. During the second quarter, wallet compromises overtook phishing as the largest attack method, accounting for $807.5 million in stolen assets. A significant share of those losses came from just two major incidents. CertiK said more than 70% of the second-quarter total stemmed from attacks targeting KelpDAO and Drift Protocol, both of which are believed to have been carried out by North Korean state-sponsored hackers.
Total losses appear lower. CertiK said the industry is facing a structurally higher rate of attack activity than a year earlier. Excluding the exceptional Bybit hack from 2025, the firm concluded that individual attacks are becoming more financially damaging and increasingly focused on high-value targets instead of opportunistic exploits.