January 2026 Crypto Losses Reach $370.3M; Phishing Drives $311.3M as Hacks Total $86M
According to CertiK and PeckShield, a single social-engineering scam cost ~$284M, while 16 technical hacks caused $86.01M in damages; Step Finance, Truebit, SwapNet, and Saga suffered major incidents.
According to CertiK, crypto losses in January 2026 totaled about $370.3 million, with ~$311.3 million attributed to phishing and one victim losing roughly $284 million in a social-engineering scam. CertiK counted 40 exploit and scam incidents. PeckShield separately reported 16 hacks totaling $86.01 million, a 13.25% rise from December 2025 ($75.95M) but 1.42% lower than January 2025 ($87.25M). Notable technical breaches included Step Finance (~$29M; over 261,000 SOL missing), Truebit ($26.4M via near-free minting), SwapNet (~$13.3M), and Saga (~$7M). Reports also noted January’s losses were nearly 4x January 2025’s $98M and over 3x December’s ~$118M; figures vary by source and methodology.
- Phishing: Deceptive tactics (fake links, impersonation) used to trick users into authorizing transfers or revealing keys, leading to fund theft.
- Social engineering: Manipulating people—rather than systems—to bypass security, often via persuasion, urgency, or impersonation to trigger harmful actions.
- Smart contract: Self-executing code on a blockchain; bugs or logic flaws can be exploited to mint, drain, or misdirect funds.