Crypto Long & Short: What this year's $972 million crypto hacks actually tell us about security

In the first half of 2026, approximately $972 million in cryptocurrency assets have been stolen through various hacks. According to Mitchell Amador, founder and CEO of Immunefi, many of these losses are not due to smart contract bugs but rather stem from operational failures such as compromised private keys, stolen signing keys, misconfigured verification systems, and governance attacks. For example, an attacker spent about $4 million to buy enough tokens to pass a governance proposal in BonkDAO, draining roughly $20 million from its treasury without exploiting any code flaws. Similarly, the largest loss in June, over $30 million at Humanity Protocol, resulted from a compromised private key rather than a contract vulnerability.

Amador’s analysis of 425 hacks from 2021 to 2025 shows that a significant portion of the total value lost—especially between 2024 and 2025—occurred due to centralized exchange compromises involving keys, custody, and signing authority. Despite ongoing code vulnerabilities—93.9% of programs that run five years or more have exposed critical issues—and the fact that every upgrade introduces new attack surfaces, the crypto industry has made progress through continuous and incentivized review processes, such as live bug bounty programs, which have helped prevent many potential hacks.

However, Amador emphasizes that audits alone do not guarantee security since they only verify code at a single point in time and do not address the security of keys, signing authority, or governance processes. He cites a case where a protocol audited 11 times still lost $128 million. The effective security model involves continuous monitoring and incentivized scrutiny of the entire ecosystem, including code, keys, people, governance, and operations. Without extending this disciplined approach beyond just the code layer, similar catastrophic losses are likely to continue.

In addition to the security analysis, CoinDesk’s weekly newsletter highlights other industry developments. Strategy raised $544.5 million from common-stock sales and repurchased some of its preferred stock, while BitMEX and BitMart announced upcoming closures amid the bear market. Revolut achieved a $115 billion valuation through an employee share sale. Furthermore, U.S. legislation aimed at crypto clarity faces delays. Meanwhile, Solana’s long-tail token volume share rebounded past 60%, indicating recovery in certain market segments.