Cryptocurrency-related exploits showed a dramatic decrease in early 2026, with hackers stealing approximately $168.6 million from 34 decentralized finance protocols during the first quarter, according to DefiLlama data. This represents a steep 89% decline from the $1.58 billion recorded in Q1 2025, largely due to the massive Bybit exploit that alone accounted for roughly $1.4 billion last year.
Despite the overall decline, security risks remain persistent and increasingly complex. January's largest incident involved a $40 million private key compromise at Step Finance, while TrueBit lost $26.4 million in Ether on January 8 due to a smart contract exploit. The reduction suggests improved security practices, but the industry continues to face sophisticated threats from state-sponsored actors.
