Haseeb Qureshi said record hack counts in 2026 have coincided with smaller median losses, countering fears that AI would trigger a sharp escalation in decentralized finance exploit damage.
Annualized losses from DeFi (decentralized finance) hacks in 2026 are still running below 2025 levels and remain within the historical range, according to Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi. He said fears that AI would trigger a DeFi “hackpocalypse” have not materialized, pointing to 2026 data showing a record number of hacks but median losses below $500,000, down from more than $2 million in 2025. Excluding outlier months such as the February 2025 Bybit hack and the April 2026 KelpDAO and Drift Protocol exploits, Qureshi said 2026 has still seen less value hacked per month than the previous year. He argued that AI-enabled attackers are mostly hitting “small protocols and abandonware,” while larger DeFi projects have strengthened defenses. Broader crypto losses also declined, with CertiK saying first-half 2026 losses fell 46.8% year over year to $1.32 billion, though that tally remained heavily influenced by Bybit, KelpDAO and Drift Protocol.