Crypto Hacks Hit $52M in March as Losses Jump 96% in a Month

Highlights:

• Losses from crypto hacks in March 2026 hits $52 million, according to PeckShield Alert. 
• Crypt exploits losses spiked 96% month-on-month, after recording a significantly low value in February 2026.
•  Wallet compromise and phishing were the two most common crypto scamming techniques last month. 

PeckShieldAlert, a leading on-chain investigation platform, has reported a significant surge in crypto hack incidents last month. According to an X post dated 1 April, PeckShieldAlert reported that hackers stole roughly $52 million worth of digital assets in March 2026. This figure represents a 96% month-on-month increase when compared to the $26.5 million recorded in February 2026.  

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The on-chain investigation firm noted that direct losses from major hack incidents last month were smaller compared to the Shadow contagion. For context, a shadow contagion refers to the losses accompanying a failed or hacked project. This could be in the form of bad debts, liquidity stress, or a wider financial crisis.  

#PeckShieldAlert In March 2026, the crypto space saw 20 major hacks totaling $52M – a 96% MoM surge from February ($26.5M). But the real damage lies in the "Shadow Contagion".#Tophacks:
– @ResolvLabs ($USR) De-peg: An AWS KMS breach enabled an 80M USR "infinite mint" (~$25M… pic.twitter.com/huohE79th6

— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) April 1, 2026

Resolv Labs Incident Dominates as Crypto Hacks Total $52M last Month

Per PeckShield Alert, the exploit involving Resolv Labs and its USR token was the largest last month. Attackers gained access through a breach linked to AWS key management. This allowed them to mint large amounts of USR tokens. Reports showed that the hackers stole 80 million USR tokens valued at approximately $25 million. The incident resulted in an 80% drop in USR price. It also triggered systemic bad debt across interconnected lending platforms such as Morpho Blue, Euler, and Fluid.  

Another major hack incident in March was the Venus exploit. Attackers used a combination of on-chain and off-chain methods to move funds away from the platform. In the end, the scammers plunged the platform into bad debt valued at about $2.18 million. PeckShieldAlert added that not all losses were from smart contract vulnerabilities. Some individuals who lost significant funds last month were victims of targeted and personal attacks.    

For example, in early March, hackers drained $24 million in aEthUSDC from a Sillytuna-linked wallet. The hackers used a mix of physical access and on-chain compromise to steal the digital assets. In one of its older news articles, Crypto2Community reported that scammers tricked Sillytuna into sending assets to a malicious address that looked similar to a trusted one. After stealing the assets, the hackers moved them to two different wallets, each holding roughly $10 million in digital assets. 

Separately, a Kraken user suffered an $18 million loss from a social engineering scam. According to PeckShield Alert, this user with wallet address “0xC551…acA21” spent $18 million on 8,662 ETH before the hack incident. “The hacker bridged $1.7 million worth of ETH through Thorchain and deposited it into HitBTC; they also deposited an additional 5,347.9 ETH into HitBTC,” PeckShield Alert Added.

#PeckShieldAlert #zachxbt reported that #Kraken user 0xC551…acA21 – who spent $18M to accumulate 8,662 $ETH – has been hacked via social engineering.

The hacker bridged $1.7M worth of $ETH through #Thorchain and deposited it into #HitBTC; they also deposited an additional… pic.twitter.com/uZjKl43J6L

— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) April 1, 2026

Broader Report Shows Increased Losses in March

CertikAlert, another blockchain investigation platform renowned for publishing a broader, real-world loss view, reported $59.5 million in stolen digital assets last month. Out of this, $21.4 million was attributed to phishing scams. Overall, hacks across 145 incidents in the first quarter of 2026 have reached $501 million. Aside from reporting the major hacks last month, Certik categorized the incidents based on exploit method and type. 

Wallet compromise and phishing were the most used methods of crypto theft last month. Both resulted in losses worth $26.85 million and $21.41 million, respectively. Others include code vulnerability, exit scam, and price manipulation. Through these methods, hackers stole $5.71 million, $2.73 million, and $1.75 million, respectively.

Based on the type of exploits, Decentralized Finance (DeFi), social engineering, and wallet drainer were the most common, attributing to losses worth $32.88 million, $118.1 million, and $3.17 million, respectively. Other types include Artificial Intelligence (AI) and meme. Both saw roughly $4 million in combined losses last month.    

#CertiKStatsAlert 🚨

Combining all the incidents in March we’ve confirmed ~$59.5M lost to exploits with ~$21.4M of the total attributed to phishing.

That brings the initial losses for Q1 to $501M across 145 incidents.

More details below 👇 pic.twitter.com/HwAkD3Pu0m

— CertiK Alert (@CertiKAlert) March 31, 2026

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