The month-to-month losses from crypto hacks and scams in February hit the bottom degree since March 2025, with $26.5 million stolen final month, says blockchain safety firm PeckShield.
Out of 15 situations in February, solely two accounted for many of the month’s losses, with the biggest being the $10 million theft from YieldBlox’s DAO-managed lending pool by way of a worth manipulation assault on Feb. 21, PeckShield reported in an X publish on Sunday.
The second-largest exploit focused the decentralized identification protocol IoTeX, which misplaced about $8.9 million to a non-public key exploit on Feb. 21. Total, February’s complete represents a 69.2% month-on-month lower from January, which recorded simply over $86 million in losses.
A PeckShield spokesperson advised Cointelegraph that “mega-hacks,” such because the $1.5 billion Bybit hack in February 2025, didn’t inflate final month’s statistics, and market volatility led to a major cooling interval in exploit exercise.
“A pointy market correction in early February, with Bitcoin dipping under $70,000, shifted the business’s focus towards institutional deleveraging and math-based sell-offs. Throughout such high-volatility intervals, the tactical focus usually strikes away from protocol exploits towards navigating market liquidity,” the spokesperson added.
Safety enhancements could possibly be an element
Kronos Analysis analyst Dominick John advised Cointelegraph that the decline might additionally replicate tighter threat controls, stronger counterparty requirements and improved real-time monitoring throughout main venues.
“Capital is turning into extra selective, rewarding protocols with mature safety frameworks. Sustained draw back will rely upon whether or not safety requirements maintain tempo with innovation,” he stated.
John stated losses might proceed to say no by way of the yr as audits, monitoring, and institutional threat frameworks mature.
Synthetic intelligence may also speed up the shift, powering automated code opinions, anomaly detection, and pre-deployment assault simulations to catch vulnerabilities earlier within the lifecycle,’ he added.
“Crypto safety is leveling up. Protocols are doubling down on audits, formal verification, and real-time monitoring, whereas establishments are elevating the bar on what they’ll fund,” John stated.
“AI-driven checks and automatic vulnerability scans are catching points earlier, although the fast-moving ecosystem retains the sport high-stakes.”
Phishing stays a persistent drawback
Losses from phishing have declined, with assaults tied to pockets drainers dropping sharply in 2025, from $494 million to $83.85 million.
The PeckShield spokesperson stated that the assaults, the place a scammer poses as a trusted individual or group to steal delicate info, stay a lingering concern.
Associated: Touring? ‘Evil Twin’ WiFi networks can steal crypto passwords
“Phishing stays essentially the most persistent menace. As an alternative of attempting to hack the contract, unhealthy actors are more and more targeted on hacking the human,” they added.
“It’s important for each establishments and whales to undertake multi-sig chilly storage options and strictly guard their wallets and personal keys.”
Journal: Would Bitcoin actually be at $200K if not for Jane Road? Commerce Secrets and techniques