February was unusually quiet for crypto thieves. After months of eye-watering losses, the industry recorded just $26.5 million in total hack and scam-related damages last month — the smallest monthly figure in 11 months, according to blockchain security firm PeckShield. It’s a number that stands in sharp contrast to the carnage seen in early 2025, when a single breach wiped out $1.5 billion from crypto exchange Bybit. The bigger of the two hit YieldBlox, a DAO-managed lending pool, on Feb. 21.
Attackers manipulated token prices to drain $10 million from the protocol. That same day, decentralized identity platform IoTeX was also struck — close to $9 million was taken through a private key exploit. Together, those two incidents alone made up over 70% of the month’s total losses. In February 2026, the crypto space saw 15 main hacks totaling $26.5M, representing a 98.2% YoY decrease compared to February 2025 ($1.5B, including the $1.4B #Bybit drain) and a notable 69.2% MoM decrease from January 2026 ($86.01M in losses).
Market conditions also played a role. Bitcoin dipped below $70,000 in early February, triggering a broad market correction that appeared to shift the focus away from protocol attacks. Artificial intelligence is being credited as a rising force in the fight against vulnerabilities, with automated code checks, anomaly detection tools, and pre-deployment attack simulations catching problems earlier — before they can be exploited. Analysts say that tighter risk controls, stronger vetting of counterparties, and better real-time monitoring across major platforms have all contributed to a more secure environment.
Leave a Reply