April 2026 turned into a nightmare for the crypto world. According to CertiK, a blockchain security company, the total amount lost to hacks, scams, and exploits this month crossed $650.9 million.
That makes it the worst month for crypto losses since March 2022, when the industry lost roughly $715 million
Major Exploits Drove the Losses
According to CertiK’s data, the majority of losses came from exploit-based attacks rather than phishing or scams.
The largest exploit came from KiloEx, which alone saw losses of about $291.3 million. This was followed by Drift Protocol, with losses of roughly $285.23 million, making it one of the biggest single incidents of the month.
Meanwhile, other notable attacks included Rhea Finance at $18.47 million, Grinex at $16.23 million, and a contract exploit labeled 0x8B84 with losses of around $6.585 million.
Wallet Compromises Led the Losses
Looking at how the money was lost, wallet compromise was the biggest category by far, responsible for over $610 million of the total.
Price manipulation schemes came second at around $18.88 million, followed by code vulnerabilities at nearly $17 million.
Meanwhile, phishing attacks, though smaller in total, still caused $3.57 million in damage across multiple incidents. Front-end attacks rounded out the list at $544,703.
DeFi Remains the Biggest Target
CertiK’s breakdown shows that DeFi platforms continue to be the most affected sector. By sector, DeFi platforms were hit the hardest, losing nearly $609.39 million in April alone.
Centralized platforms recorded losses of about $8.48 million, while gaming-related projects saw around $3.41 million drained.
Smaller losses were recorded in bridges ($2.83 million) and other categories totaling nearly $9.85 million.
What This Means for the Crypto Market
The number of security incidents also increased steadily from January to April, with April recording the highest activity level.
The surge in losses raises fresh concerns about security standards across the industry. While innovation continues to push the space forward, these incidents highlight the urgent need for stronger audits, better risk management, and improved user awareness.
Despite these setbacks, the industry has shown resilience in the past.
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