Cryptocurrency-related security breaches have generated approximately $8.74 billion in losses through October 31, 2026, more than tripling the $2.51 billion recorded during the corresponding period in 2025. The dramatic increase was primarily driven by the October 29 Binance exploit, which contributed an estimated $6.36 billion to this year’s total.
However, removing the Binance incident from the calculation significantly changes the overall picture. Excluding that breach, crypto theft losses in 2026 amounted to roughly $2.38 billion, approximately 5% lower than the comparable 2025 figure. This decline occurred despite a substantial increase in the number of attacks, with 325 targets affected in 2026 compared with 120 during the previous year.
The figures indicate that hackers carried out more attacks in 2026, but most incidents involved relatively smaller amounts until the massive Binance breach changed the annual statistics.
DeFi Hack Losses: How Has the Crypto Market Responded?
Bitcoin’s historical performance following major cryptocurrency exploits suggests that immediate price reactions are generally limited, while longer-term movements depend heavily on broader market conditions.
An examination of the ten largest crypto hacks since January 2025 shows that Bitcoin’s daily price movement on the day of an attack ranged from a 4.1% decline to a 1.9% increase.
Over the following 30 days, Bitcoin’s performance across nine incidents with complete monthly data varied between a 15.5% loss and a 19.9% gain. These movements largely reflected the prevailing market trend rather than the direct impact of individual security breaches.
The timing of the attacks also played an important role. All three major incidents recorded in 2025 were followed by lower Bitcoin prices one month later, as the cryptocurrency market was experiencing a broader downturn. Most significant exploits in 2026, meanwhile, occurred during periods of positive market momentum.
This raises questions about the actual severity of cryptocurrency thefts in 2026 and whether historical price patterns can offer clues about Bitcoin and Ethereum’s performance following the Binance incident.
Crypto Hack Losses: Why Did 2026 Surpass 2025?
The extraordinary size of the largest individual exploit explains most of the difference between the two years.
Before the Binance incident, cryptocurrency theft losses in 2026 stood at approximately $2.24 billion through September, compared with $2.48 billion during the same period in 2025.
The situation changed on October 29, when attackers reportedly stole approximately $6.36 billion across ten blockchains in a single night. That amount alone exceeded the combined losses attributed to crypto hacks throughout 2025.
North Korean-linked hacking operations have also emerged as a common factor behind the largest incidents in both years. The FBI attributed the February 21, 2025, Bybit exploit, which resulted in approximately $1.4 billion in stolen assets, to North Korea’s TraderTraitor group. Chainalysis has also connected the Binance breach to the same hacking unit.
The largest reported exploits include:
Top cryptocurrency hacks in 2026
- Binance: $6.36 billion on October 29.
- Bitget: $387 million on September 24.
- Liquid Network: $320 million on September 6.
- Drift: $295 million on April 1.
- Kelp: $293 million on April 18.
Top cryptocurrency hacks in 2025
- Bybit: $1.4 billion on February 21.
- Cetus: $223 million on May 22.
- Balancer: $128 million on November 3.
- Bitget: $100 million on April 20.
- Phemex: $85 million on January 23.
The frequency of attacks has also increased considerably. By the end of October, 2026 had recorded 325 security incidents, compared with 120 during the same period in 2025. Five exploits this year resulted in losses exceeding $290 million each, whereas only one incident reached that threshold in 2025.
Outside the Binance breach, compromised private keys and vulnerabilities involving cross-chain bridges accounted for a significant portion of the stolen cryptocurrency.
Nevertheless, the headline loss figures do not reflect how much money ultimately remains unrecovered. CertiK’s October assessment identified approximately $3.03 billion in frozen or recovered assets, with a substantial portion involving Binance-related funds intercepted on-chain. After accounting for these recoveries, adjusted losses for October were estimated at around $3.47 billion.
Annual estimates also differ depending on the tracking platform. CertiK places gross crypto theft losses at approximately $9.2 billion in 2026 and $3.35 billion in 2025. DefiLlama reports lower totals of $8.74 billion and $2.72 billion, respectively.
Bitcoin and Ethereum Price Movements Following Major Hacks
Historical market data indicates that major cryptocurrency exploits do not necessarily result in prolonged weakness across the entire market. A comparison of Bitcoin and Ethereum prices against their closing levels one day before the ten largest attacks since 2025 highlights several important trends.
Bitcoin generally experiences modest immediate declines.
BTC recorded losses on seven of the ten hack dates, with an average decline of approximately 2.2% across those negative sessions. The Binance incident produced the largest daily drop of 4.1%, while Bitcoin actually gained 1.9% on the day of the Cetus exploit.
The following month’s performance depends heavily on market direction.
All three major hacks included in the 2025 comparison were followed by Bitcoin declines of between 6.9% and 15.5% over the next month.
The 2026 results were more positive. Four of the six incidents with complete 30-day price data were followed by Bitcoin gains, with the strongest advance reaching 19.9% after the Coldcard incident.
Assets directly connected to the affected ecosystems can experience heavier selling pressure.
Ethereum declined 26.7% during the month following the Bybit exploit, where the majority of stolen funds consisted of ETH. Following the Cetus breach, SUI lost approximately 34.6% over the subsequent month, reflecting pressure on the token associated with the affected blockchain ecosystem.
The Bybit incident provides a useful historical comparison for Binance because both involved cryptocurrency exchange thefts exceeding $1 billion that were linked to North Korean hacking groups.
After the Bybit attack, Bitcoin declined 14.2% within seven days. However, broader market concerns surrounding US tariff policies also contributed to the sell-off. One month later, BTC was still trading 12.4% below its pre-attack level.
Bitcoin’s response following the Binance breach has been relatively less severe so far. Comparing prices with the October 28 closing levels, the reported changes are:
- BTC: Down 4.3%.
- ETH: Down 3.2%.
- BNB: Down 7.2%, following an 8.1% decline on the day of the attack.
- SOL: Down 8.4%.
BTC Price Analysis: Is Bitcoin Repeating the Bybit Crash?
Bitcoin has not yet established a clear pattern resembling either the Bybit aftermath or the generally stronger recovery seen following several 2026 exploits.
At the time of the analysis, BTC was trading near $77,870 on Binance and was relatively unchanged on the day. The cryptocurrency had remained above its October 30 low of $76,326 for three consecutive days. This price level is close to the 200-day exponential moving average (EMA), currently positioned around $76,512.
The historical comparison provides two contrasting possibilities. Following the Bybit breach, Bitcoin lost important support within a week and continued declining over the following month. Conversely, several major security incidents in 2026 were followed by price recoveries as the broader market maintained its upward momentum.
Bitcoin is currently trading between two significant technical indicators. The 200-day EMA provides an important support reference, while the 50-day EMA near $80,293 represents a major resistance level.
Key BTC price levels to monitor:
- Immediate resistance: $78,878, Monday’s high.
- Next resistance: $80,293, corresponding to the 50-day EMA.
- Major upside barrier: $81,971, the October 29 high before the Binance breach.
- Primary support: $76,512, near the 200-day EMA.
- Recent downside level: $76,326, the post-hack low.
- Additional support: $74,968, the September 15 low.
Bitcoin’s ability to remain above the $76,326–$76,512 support zone could help preserve its recovery structure. A sustained move above $80,293 would improve the bullish outlook, while a breakdown below recent lows could expose the market to another decline toward $74,968.
