Crypto hackers have taken $2.7 billion in 2026 and the losses are alarmingly concentrated

Crypto firms and users have lost nearly $2.7 billion to security incidents this year, with North Korea-linked thefts exceeding $1 billion.Blockchain security firm CertiK recorded 658 incidents through September, with about $420.4 million of stolen assets frozen or returned. That leaves adjusted losses of roughly $2.26 billion and an average loss of $4.1 million per incident.September sharply altered the year's tally. Losses reached about $766.5 million, surpassing April's $651.3 million and making it the costliest month of 2026. Bitget's $387.5 million breach and the $318.7 million Liquid Network incident accounted for more than $700 million of the damage.The surge has left the annual total increasingly dependent on a small number of outsized attacks. It has also brought state-linked theft deeper into the industry's security calculations after blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said suspected North Korean hackers have taken more than $1 billion in crypto this year.Mega-hacks are reshaping the annual tollSeptember propelled Bitget and Liquid Network to the top of CertiK's 2026 incident ranking, widening the gap between the largest breaches and hundreds of smaller attacks.Bitget alon...