April Was the Worst Ever Month on Record for Crypto Hacks
April 2026 marked the worst month on record for crypto hacks, with $651 million lost across 29 incidents, according to crypto security firm Certik. Notable breaches included Drift and Kelp DAO, which together accounted for $579 million in losses, with North Korean actors implicated in the Drift hack. The surge in attacks has raised doubts about the readiness of decentralized finance for adoption by traditional financial institutions.
- ▪April 2026 saw $651 million lost in crypto hacks, the highest monthly total since March 2022, excluding the February 2025 Bybit incident.
- ▪The Drift and Kelp DAO hacks accounted for $579 million of the total losses, with North Korea-linked actors involved in the Drift breach.
- ▪Blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs reported that 76% of all crypto value stolen in 2026 is linked to North Korea, which has amassed over $6 billion from hacking operations.
- ▪JPMorgan analysts cited persistent security flaws and stagnant total value locked as barriers to institutional adoption of DeFi.
- ▪Criticism has emerged toward so-called decentralized systems due to centralized interventions, such as fund freezes and asset seizures, undermining claims of decentralization.
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April was the worst month on record for crypto projects getting hacked, with 29 incidents tracked by crypto data provider DefiLlama. In terms of dollar value, $651 million in losses were recorded, which is the largest monthly total since March 2022 (excluding the February 2025 Bybit hack), according to crypto security firm Certik. In response to these most recent incidents, many crypto market observers are questioning whether blockchain infrastructure can be relied upon by traditional financial institutions.
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