Hackers Steal $1.1 Billion in Crypto So Far This Year

The crypto industry is facing a difficult security climate after attackers siphoned $1.1 billion from various protocols in the first six months of the year. Data shows there were 212 distinct onchain exploits during this period, with the frequency of attacks rising from 18 in January to 57 in June.

Security researchers point to groups linked to North Korea as a primary driver for these losses, as they are responsible for 55% of the total stolen funds. Major breaches at KelpDAO and Drift Protocol alone accounted for hundreds of millions in losses. Ethereum and Solana protocols were hit the hardest, losing $332 million and $326 million respectively.

Most of the financial damage did not come from simple code errors, but rather from operational security failures like the misuse of privileged keys. This caused $790 million in losses, far outpacing the damage caused by traditional vulnerabilities. New threats are also appearing, including attacks on AI agents and wallet delegation methods.

Traders and developers should remain cautious as attackers demonstrate higher levels of scale and sophistication. With the total number of major exploits in the first half of the year already exceeding the totals from all of last year, project security is now a top priority for the entire ecosystem.