A crypto whale lost $25.6M as on-chain exploits hit $1.2B in 2026. Physical wrench attacks in France target wealthy holders, with 46 attempts recorded this year alone.
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Another crypto whale lost over $25 million as physical theft and on-chain exploits pushed annual industry losses past $1.2 billion.
The unknown whale's wallet held WBTC, cbBTC, LDO, USDS, and CRV worth $25.6 million. An attacker drained the assets and swapped them for DAI and ETH, on-chain data show.
Analyst Specter noted the same wallet was exploited for $24.23 million in 2023. In that case, the hack used a malicious approval via phishing. The attacker returned 90% of the stolen funds. Whether the whale recovers any of the latest $25.6 million is unclear.
The security threat extends beyond digital theft. Physical attacks, assaults, and kidnappings known as wrench attacks have proliferated in France and other regions, security researchers said. Victims tend to be wealthy crypto owners whose personal data was compromised, giving attackers access to home addresses.
Jameson Lopp, chief security officer at Bitcoin wallet Casa HODL, said a couple in France with no crypto holdings was attacked three times this month. The couple lives in a home previously occupied by a crypto investor whose details appeared in a breached database. France faces an elevated threat level after the compromise of tax agency records, Lopp said.
So far in 2026, crypto linked to violent attacks has reached $107 million. That is down from $360 million in 2024 and $180 million in 2025, according to Chainalysis. The success rate of wrench attacks that end in crypto losses has also declined. In 2026, only 12 of 46 attempts – 26% – resulted in stolen funds.
On-chain exploits have drained over $1.2 billion in 2026. Attack vectors range from operational security lapses to social engineering, security firms said.
Crypto investors face growing physical and digital threats. If the trend persists, self-custody could become riskier, and more users may shift to crypto ETFs to limit exposure, analysts said.
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