Blockchain security firm PeckShield has reported that total estimated crypto losses from hacks, exploits, and scams in February were approximately $26.5 million. According to the report, the latest crypto losses are the lowest month-on-month since March 2025, and the sharp decline in stolen crypto funds represents a 98% drop from more than $86 million lost in comparable periods in the past year.
The decline in crypto losses suggests that security measures, risk awareness, and behavioral shifts among developers and users may be having a positive impact even as crypto continues to contend with fraud, phishing, and theft. However, some industry experts also suggest that the reduced figure reflects the lower exploit activity and increased security measures across decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, which are more susceptible to risks.
According to PeckShield’s report, the crypto loss figure reported by on-chain monitoring of incidents across the industry was a 98.2% year-over-year decline from $1.5 billion in February 2025 and a 69.2% month-over-month drop from January 2026’s $86 million in estimated losses. The crypto sector saw 15 significant hacking and scam incidents last month, marking a quieter period for illicit activity compared with the blowouts of prior years
Although the overall number of crypto losses reported was minimal, the bulk of February’s losses came from a handful of large incidents. The most costly exploit involved YieldBlox, where attackers carted away with roughly $10 million through an oracle price manipulation attack against a DAO-managed lending pool.
On the same day, cybersecurity monitors flagged a private key compromise at decentralized identity protocol IoTeX, leading to approximately $8.9 million being stolen. Beyond these top two, smaller crypto losses were recorded across protocols, including CrossCurve, FOOM Cash, and Moonwell, each contributing between about $1.8 million and $4.9 million to February’s total.
Security analysts note that while these incidents still inflicted harm, they were smaller in comparison to the high-volume hacks of recent years, particularly the February 2025 Bybit hack that accounted for approximately $1.4 billion of that month’s total crypto losses.
The data indicates that some of the major vulnerabilities exploited in previous years, such as cross-chain bridge weaknesses and poorly audited smart contracts, have become less prevalent or better defended. For instance, protocols with historical security issues have either implemented targeted patching or reduced exposure by tightening access and risk controls.
Additionally, analysts note a marked reduction in high-severity incidents involving DeFi platforms. The protocols are increasingly integrating third-party audits, formal verification processes, and bug bounties. While smaller scams continued, their individual dollar values in crypto losses have been lower, contributing to the relatively silent loss for February. This shows that as the crypto ecosystem advances, security innovation, user education, and community vigilance will continue to combat attackers’ evolving tactics to steal from users.
