April saw the highest number of cryptocurrency hacking incidents on record, compounding challenges for an industry grappling with a bear market.
Crypto Hacks Hit A 14-Month High
DeFiLlama, a decentralized finance analytics platform, posted an X chart highlighting a dramatic rise in monthly incidents during April, reaching nearly 30 and far above historical peaks.
Hackers stole $635.24 million in April, the highest monthly total since Bybit’s infamous $1.4 billion exchange heist in February 2025.
The Infamous Cases
The biggest hack of the month was the $290 million exploit of KelpDAO’s liquid restaking protocol, followed closely by Drift Protocol’s $285 million exploit. Both incidents were linked to North Korean state-sponsored hackers.
In the KelpDAO incident, the hacker targeted a cross-chain bridge, powered by interoperability protocol LayerZero, and robbed restaked Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH). …