Key Highlights
- Crypto hacks related losses reached $52M in March, as single breaches triggered wider losses across DeFi platforms in a growing “shadow contagion” effect.
- Wallet exploits and phishing scams drove over 80% of losses, exposing weak user security as a major risk factor.
- Social engineering attacks surged, targeting high-value users and exchanges with coordinated and sophisticated tactics.
Crypto markets were hit hard in March 2026, with hackers stealing $52 million in 20 separate incidents. That’s nearly double February’s $26.5 million, according to data compiled by PeckShieldAlert. The security firm has flagged a growing “Shadow Contagion” risk, where one attack can trigger losses across multiple platforms.
The biggest hits last month involved ResolvLabs and Venus, along with targeted social engineering scams that hit wealthy investors and exchange users. ResolvLabs suffered the largest loss when a breach in AWS KMS allowed an 80 million USR “infinite mint,” draining $25 million.
The token then crashed 80%, creating bad debt that spread to MorphoBlue, Euler, and Fluid. Venus was hit by a complex on-chain and off-chain exploit, leaving $2.18 million in losses.
Social engineering attacks also surged, including an $18.2 million loss faced by a Kraken user and a coordinated $24 million theft from Sillytuna.
Wallets and phishing lead losses
CertiK’s March report confirmed $59.5 million was lost to exploits, phishing, and scams, with only $21,912 recovered—a recovery rate of just 0.04%. Wallet compromises caused the biggest losses totaling $26.8 million, followed by phishing related scams at $21.4 million.
Together, these two attack types made up more than 80% of the month’s total. DeFi protocols lost $32.8 million, showing the risks in smart contracts, while social engineering attacks drained $18 million.
January 2026 also showed severe attacks with exploits and scams reaching $370.3 million—the highest monthly total in nearly a year. Large targeted social engineering schemes drove most of these losses.
Crypto scams expand globally
Fraud remains a significant risk in crypto. In this regard, Chainalysis reported that in 2025, there was an increase in illicit crypto activities, with addresses receiving at least $154 billion—a 162% increase from the previous year. Of this, sanctioned entities contributed significantly to this increase, with a 694% increase in illicit activities.
However, it is worth noting that other forms of illegal activities have also increased. The firm reported stablecoins account for 84% of this activity due to their popularity and ease of transfer.
Earlier, that is in 2024, crypto scams cost victims at least $9.9 billion, with “pig butchering” scams increasing by 40% over the previous year. Despite this, high-yield investment scams still account for more than half of scam revenues, even though losses in this category have decreased by 37%.
March 2026 warns investors and crypto platforms that stronger security measures and careful user vigilance are now essential. The risks in the market are real, and ignoring them could be costly.
Also Read: U.S. Charges 10 Crypto Executives in International Wash Trading Sting
