Crypto Losses Hit $370M in January 2026, Highest in 11 Months: CertiK
The worth of cryptocurrency stolen via exploits and scams surged to $370.3 million in January 2026, marking the very best month-to-month complete in 11 months and a pointy enhance from the identical interval a yr earlier, based on data from blockchain security firm CertiK.
Key Takeaways:
- Crypto losses surged to $370.3 million in January, the very best stage in 11 months.
- Phishing and social engineering drove most losses, led by a single $284 million rip-off.
- Exploits continued, with main hacks at Step Finance and Truebit.
CertiK mentioned that whereas at the least 40 exploit and rip-off incidents have been recorded in the course of the month, the majority of the losses stemmed from a single case.
One sufferer reportedly misplaced round $284 million in a large-scale social engineering assault, highlighting how particular person incidents can closely skew month-to-month figures.
Phishing Drives $311M in Crypto Losses as January Theft Surges
Phishing scams have been the dominant vector general, accounting for $311.3 million of the full stolen.
January’s losses signify a virtually fourfold rise from January 2025, when attackers made off with $98 million, and greater than triple December’s complete of $117.8 million.
The determine is the very best since February 2025, when complete month-to-month losses reached about $1.5 billion following the $1.4 billion hack of crypto trade Bybit, CertiK mentioned.
While phishing and scams drove many of the injury, on-chain exploits remained a persistent menace.
Blockchain safety agency PeckShield reported that the most important hack in January targeted Step Finance, a decentralized finance portfolio tracker on Solana.
Attackers drained roughly $28.9 million after compromising a number of treasury wallets, siphoning greater than 261,000 SOL.
The second-largest exploit involved the Truebit protocol, which misplaced about $26.4 million on Jan. 8 after a sensible contract flaw allowed an attacker to mint tokens at minimal price, triggering a pointy drop in the value of the TRU token.
PeckShield additionally flagged a $13.3 million hack on SwapNet and a $7 million exploit affecting the Saga community.
PeckShield counted 16 hacks in complete throughout January, ensuing in $86 million in losses. While that determine was barely decrease than a yr earlier, it marked a notable enhance from December, underscoring the continued volatility of crypto safety dangers.
Crypto Crime Hits Record $154B in 2025, Chainalysis Says
Crypto-related crime stays a rising concern. According to Chainalysis, illicit cryptocurrency addresses received a record $154 billion in 2025, a pointy enhance from the yr earlier than.
In one other case, US prosecutors have charged a 23-year-old Brooklyn resident, Ronald Spektor, with stealing roughly $16 million in cryptocurrency from round 100 Coinbase customers via an alleged phishing and social engineering scheme.
According to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, Spektor posed as a Coinbase worker and contacted victims claiming their funds have been at quick danger, pressuring them to switch crypto to wallets he managed.
Authorities mentioned the scheme relied on panic ways reasonably than technical hacks. Operating beneath the net alias “lolimfeelingevil,” Spektor allegedly warned victims of imminent theft to override skepticism and drive fast selections.
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