The data from DefiLlama indicates that the first quarter of 2026 experienced a marked decrease in the theft of cryptocurrencies, as crypto hackers managed to steal only $168.6 million from 34 decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. This is a dramatic fall from the $1.58 billion worth of crypto stolen during Q1 2025.
The third-largest figure is a private key leak targeting stablecoin issuer Resolv Labs on March 21. Most of last year’s figure comes from the $1.4 billion Bybit exploit.
Major Exploits in Q1 2026 The biggest hacked money talk of the quarter was the $40 million private key leak of portfolio management platform Step Finance in January, followed by a Jan. 8 smart contract manipulation that siphoned $26.4 million in ether (ETH) from Truebit.
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The threat scene in crypto probably shifts more with market events than set schedules, as Nick Percoco, Kraken’s chief security officer, notes. Attackers go after spots where money is thick, so when value piles up fast, so do the hits. Bull runs, big product drops, and quick growth waves all bring in more threats because there’s more money on the line, and new tools can be exploited.
Also Read: Crypto Losses Soar to $3.4 billion in 2025 as Hackers Target High-Value Platforms
Crypto’s open books mean bad guys can see flaws fast, so projects need to act now and put real guardrails in place to keep user funds safe. Hackers group planned to attack major systems, others run organized crime rings, and some just scan around for holes in smart contracts or apps people use every day. In DeFi, things keep changing, and experts say you can’t stop checking security; it’s a must.
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