Crypto hacks cost $1.18 billion in Q3 2026, up 55%: Hacken says audits miss most attacks

Hackers stole $1.18 billion in crypto in the third quarter of 2026, up 55% on the quarter before, across 107 incidents, blockchain security firm Hacken said in a report covered by CoinDesk on Sunday 18 October. At today's dollar rate of about Rs 276.9, that is roughly Rs 327 billion.

The firm's main finding is about where the money leaked from. About $906.8 million, roughly 77% of the total, was lost through compromised suppliers or developer tools, security fixes that were available but never installed, or parts of a system that were left out of the latest security review. In other words, most of the damage did not come from the smart-contract code that audits usually check.

The biggest crypto hacks of Q3 2026

Three bridges and cross-chain protocols also lost more than $35 million together in a single six-hour exploit in July. Our September reporting on the Bitget hack put the exchange's loss at $387.5 million; Hacken counts it as at least $352 million.

"The problem is always scope"

Hacken's co-founder Andrii Matiukhin said customers see an audit badge and "assume the whole system is covered", when audits often check only specific smart contracts. Wallets, signing systems and outside software, which is what attackers went after this quarter, can sit outside that scope. "The problem is always scope," he said.

The firm also looked at 12 derivatives and prediction-market venues. It found no live bug, but said two large platforms holding more than $700 million relied on key arrangements it considers too weak for their size: a three-of-four signature setup, or admin keys held by people who are not publicly named. It flagged cases where a critical flaw was rated as low risk and its fix was delayed or declined.

What it means for crypto users in Pakistan

For anyone in Pakistan holding coins on an exchange or in a phone wallet, that is the layer Hacken says audits cover least. Practical steps that follow from the report:

• Do not treat "audited" as "safe". Ask what was audited and when.
• Keep long-term holdings off exchanges where you can, and buy hardware wallets only from the maker or an authorised seller, since the Ledger losses came through a reseller.
• Spread risk. One exchange failure should not take everything you hold.
• Watch the price, not just the platform. Bitcoin is near $81,800 on our bitcoin price page, and ether near $2,411; a hack at a big venue can move both within hours.