REPORT | Crypto Exploit Losses at ~$70 Million in May 2026 as Bridge Attacks Remain Key Risk

Losses from cryptocurrency hacks, exploits, and security breaches fell sharply in May 2026 dropping nearly 90% from the previous month to about $68.3 million, according to blockchain security firm, CertiK.

The decline follows an exceptionally costly April 2026 when crypto-related losses surged to roughly $650 million making it one of the worst months for the sector in recent years. Excluding the record $1.5 billion Bybit hack in February 2025, April 2026 marked the industry’s highest monthly losses since March 2022, CertiK said.

“After a particularly bad April, May is now the third month of 2026 to record losses under $100 million,” CertiK said in a post on X.

Despite the overall improvement, attackers continued to target critical crypto infrastructure. The largest incident in May 2026 was an $11.5 million exploit of Verus Protocol’s cross-chain bridge, while THORChain suffered losses of about $10.1 million in a separate attack.

• Cross-chain bridges accounted for roughly $28.6 million, or 42% of all losses recorded during the month making them the most targeted segment.

• Code vulnerabilities were responsible for about two-thirds of the total losses at roughly $45 million, while

• wallet and private key compromises led to another $13.7 million in thefts.

CertiK said phishing attacks accounted for around $2.6 million of May’s losses, while approximately $9.4 million in stolen funds were recovered or returned. Data from DeFiLlama showed 29 security incidents during the month, including seven involving compromised private keys.

The latest incidents included exploits targeting Alephium Bridge and Gravity Bridge, which lost about $815,000 and $5.4 million respectively through private key compromises.

Researchers also warned of growing use of AI-assisted malware aimed at crypto developers and software repositories.

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