1. How much was lost to crypto hacks in February 2026?

Crypto hacks and exploits resulted in approximately $37.7 million in losses in February 2026, according to Certik data. This marks the lowest monthly total since March 2025. The drop reflects fewer high-value exploits rather than a sharp fall in attack frequency.

2. Which type of attack caused the most damage?

Wallet compromise incidents led all categories, accounting for $16.6 million in losses. Price manipulation followed at $11.4 million, while phishing attacks drained $8.6 million. These three categories made up the majority of February’s losses.

3. How did DeFi and AI projects perform in terms of security?

DeFi protocols suffered the largest total losses by sector at $14.4 million. AI-related crypto projects were the second-largest target, recording $8.9 million in thefts. This suggests attackers continue focusing on emerging and high-liquidity sectors.

4. Which individual projects were hit hardest?

YieldBlox recorded the largest individual exploit at $10.6 million, followed by IoTeX at $8.9 million and Foom at $2.3 million. Instadapp also reported a $10.5 million incident, while EFX saw $8.9 million in losses. Several smaller platforms experienced six-figure exploits.

5. How much of the stolen crypto was recovered?

Approximately $11.3 million was returned or frozen, representing about 30% of total February losses. While recovery efforts remain active, the majority of stolen funds were not reclaimed. This recovery rate is notable but still leaves significant net damage.

6. Did the number of hacks decrease compared to January?

Total incident counts remained relatively stable month-over-month. The major difference was fewer large-scale exploits in February. January had elevated losses, making February’s $37.7 million roughly a 60% drop in total value lost.

7. Are phishing attacks still a major problem?

Yes. Phishing accounted for $8.6 million in losses, similar to January’s levels. This suggests social engineering risks remain persistent despite improved technical security across protocols.

8. What role did price manipulation play?

Price manipulation attacks resulted in $11.4 million in stolen funds. These attacks typically exploit low-liquidity markets or oracle weaknesses. They remain a structural risk for smaller or newer tokens.

Cryptocurrency

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Crypto hack losses fall to $37.7M

Written by Mahathir BayenaPublished Mar 2, 2026, 12:00 AM

Crypto hacks and exploits resulted in approximately $37.7 million in losses in February 2026, marking the lowest monthly total since March 2025, according to data from Certik.

Wallet compromise incidents accounted for $16.6 million of the total, making it the largest loss category, while price manipulation attacks followed at $11.4 million and phishing schemes drained $8.6 million from victims.

YieldBlox recorded the largest individual exploit at $10.6 million, followed by IoTeX at $8.9 million and Foom at $2.3 million, underscoring the continued vulnerability of decentralised platforms.

DeFi protocols suffered the highest losses by sector at $14.4 million, while AI-related projects emerged as the second-largest target with $8.9 million in thefts, and gambling platforms lost $2.3 million.

Instadapp posted a $10.5 million incident, with EFX losing $8.9 million and smaller breaches affecting projects including Kasm, Initia and CryptoFarm, and following the announcement the Certik share price was unchanged at $N/A.

Funds returned or frozen totalled $11.3 million, representing roughly 30% of February’s losses and highlighting partial recovery efforts across affected platforms.

The February figure represents a sharp decline from January and most months in 2025, with Certik data indicating the drop was driven by fewer high-value exploits rather than a material reduction in overall attack frequency.