Crypto hackers steal nearly $27 billion: 2026 will be a disastrous year

The crypto sector has a huge security problem. Since 2017, hackers have stolen nearly $27 billion worth of cryptocurrencies, according to research by asset management firm ARK Invest. 2026, in particular, is an exceptionally bad year. As a result of the massive Binance hack, the damage caused by cyberattacks now even exceeds the expected annual revenue of blockchain projects.

Lorenzo Valente, Director of Digital Asset Research at ARK Invest, shared striking figures on the security of the crypto sector on Thursday.

According to his calculations, approximately $26.9 billion has been lost to hacks since 2017. In the same period, blockchain protocols collectively earned around $47 billion.

This means that for every dollar of revenue, there are approximately 57 cents in damages caused by cyberattacks.

This involves a comparison of two total amounts. This does not mean that hackers actually stole 57 percent of the revenue from blockchain projects.

According to Valente, inadequate security has now become one of the biggest obstacles to further growth in the crypto sector.

This year, in particular, losses are mounting rapidly. According to ARK Invest, hackers have already stolen around $8.7 billion in 2026. In contrast, expected revenues for blockchain protocols over the entire year amount to only $5.6 billion.

The main cause is the unprecedented hack at the Binance cryptocurrency exchange on October 29. Approximately $6.3 billion worth of cryptocurrencies were stolen in the hack. Some of the stolen assets have now been frozen, and Binance has pledged to cover the losses for users.

Other crypto companies were also hit hard. In September, Bitget lost approximately $387 million due to a cyberattack. In addition, approximately $320 million was stolen from Liquid Network, and the trading platform Drift Protocol lost approximately $295 million in April.

If the figures hold true, 2026 will be the first year since 2020 in which the damage caused by hacks exceeds the total revenue of blockchain protocols.

The ongoing attacks are also causing problems within the world of decentralized financial services, better known as DeFi. These platforms allow users to trade or lend cryptocurrencies without the involvement of a traditional bank.

Large investors, in particular, are concerned about security. JPMorgan analysts have previously pointed out the vulnerability of systems that connect different blockchains.

In the meantime, the amount of money that users have locked up on DeFi platforms has also fallen sharply.

According to data from DefiLlama, approximately $85.9 billion was still locked up on October 29. This has now fallen to $77.4 billion, a drop of almost ten percent.

This decline does not necessarily have to be entirely due to the recent hacks. Price declines and withdrawals by investors can also cause the total value on DeFi platforms to decrease.