BREAKING: Crypto Hacks Hit $1.18 Billion in Q3 — Worst Quarter Since Early 2025 as Developer Tools Cause 77% of Losses
Crypto hacks cost the market about $1.18 billion in the third quarter of 2026, according to a new report from security firm Hacken published on October 15. The losses came from 107 separate incidents, making it the worst quarter for crypto theft since early 2025, when a single huge exchange hack pushed that quarter's total even higher.
Most of the damage came from just four cases. Hacken listed a Bitget incident at about $387 million, a Liquid Network exploit at about $320 million, a Tectonic exploit at about $120 million, and a Coldcard firmware problem linked to about $115 million. Together, those four account for roughly 80% of all the money lost in the quarter, while most other incidents were much smaller.
The report's most worrying point is where the weakness was found. About 77% of the losses, around $906 million, were tied to compromised suppliers and developer tools, fixes that had been disclosed but not yet put in place, and parts of systems that sat outside normal security reviews. Smart contract attacks were still the most common type, with 71 incidents and about $228 million in losses.
There was some recovery. About $387 million, roughly one third of the total, was returned or reversed after the attacks. In the Liquid case, most of the funds came back, and in the Tectonic case a rollback reversed most of the affected borrowing. Even so, hundreds of millions remain unrecovered, and 98 of the 107 incidents each lost less than $10 million, with a typical loss of about $670,000.
For traders, this is a reminder that risk in crypto is not only about price. After a week when hot US inflation already hit Bitcoin and pushed liquidations higher, a security report like this adds extra caution around exchanges, lending platforms and wallet tools. Traders will watch whether platforms tighten supplier checks and publish clearer proof of how user funds are protected.
This post is news only, not financial advice. Always do your own research before buying or selling crypto.
Sources: Cointelegraph, PANews, TradingView
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