On-chain security platform Blockaid reported that cryptocurrency losses from security incidents surpassed $1 billion in the first half of 2026 across 212 incidents, the highest count recorded in any six-month period.
Ethereum-related projects suffered approximately $332 million in losses, while Solana projects lost $326 million. The largest single incident was the KelpDAO exploit, which resulted in $292 million in losses. Ethereum losses stemmed primarily from code vulnerabilities, whereas more than 98 percent of Solana losses came from compromised key and signing infrastructure.
Drift Protocol and Step Finance accounted for the bulk of Solana's losses through key compromise attacks. Blockaid linked the incidents to North Korea-associated hacking groups. The 212 incidents in the first half of 2026 represent a significant increase in attack frequency compared to prior periods, establishing a new benchmark for six-month incident volume.
The $1 billion threshold across a single half-year marks an escalation in the scale of coordinated attacks on decentralized finance and token protocols. Blockaid's methodology captures losses across multiple chains and incident types, including flash loan exploits, smart contract vulnerabilities, and infrastructure compromises. Other trackers have reported comparable figures for the same period, with some variation depending on which incidents and chains they include in their scope.
Solana losses concentrated in key infrastructure failures, while Ethereum faced code-based risks. Both chains host tens of billions of dollars in total value locked, yet neither has seen proportional increases in security spending relative to the attack volume. If the incident rate of 212 in six months continues through 2026, the year will exceed 424 total incidents, roughly double the pace of prior years based on available historical data.
Blockaid's H1 2026 security report will determine whether protocols prioritize key management improvements on Solana and formal verification upgrades on Ethereum in the second half of the year.
