The month-to-month losses from crypto hacks and scams in February hit the bottom degree since March 2025, with $26.5 million stolen final month, says blockchain safety firm PeckShield.
Out of 15 cases in February, solely two accounted for a lot of the month’s losses, with the most important being the $10 million theft from YieldBlox’s DAO-managed lending pool through a value manipulation assault on Feb. 21, PeckShield reported in an X put up on Sunday.
The second-largest exploit focused the decentralized identification protocol IoTeX, which misplaced about $8.9 million to a non-public key exploit on Feb. 21. General, February’s whole represents a 69.2% month-on-month lower from January, which recorded simply over $86 million in losses.
A PeckShield spokesperson informed Cointelegraph that “mega-hacks,” such because the $1.5 billion Bybit hack in February 2025, didn’t inflate final month’s statistics, and market volatility led to a big cooling interval in exploit exercise.
“A pointy market correction in early February, with Bitcoin dipping beneath $70,000, shifted the trade’s focus towards institutional deleveraging and math-based sell-offs. Throughout such high-volatility intervals, the tactical focus typically strikes away from protocol exploits towards navigating market liquidity,” the spokesperson added.
Safety enhancements could possibly be an element
Kronos Analysis analyst Dominick John informed Cointelegraph that the decline may additionally replicate tighter threat controls, stronger counterparty requirements and improved real-time monitoring throughout main venues.
“Capital is turning into extra selective, rewarding protocols with mature safety frameworks. Sustained draw back will rely on whether or not safety requirements preserve tempo with innovation,” he stated.
John stated losses may proceed to say no by the 12 months as audits, monitoring, and institutional threat frameworks mature.
Synthetic intelligence may additionally speed up the shift, powering automated code evaluations, anomaly detection, and pre-deployment assault simulations to catch vulnerabilities earlier within the lifecycle,’ he added.
“Crypto safety is leveling up. Protocols are doubling down on audits, formal verification, and real-time monitoring, whereas establishments are elevating the bar on what they’ll fund,” John stated.
“AI-driven checks and automatic vulnerability scans are catching points earlier, although the fast-moving ecosystem retains the sport high-stakes.”
Phishing stays a persistent downside
Losses from phishing have declined, with assaults tied to pockets drainers dropping sharply in 2025, from $494 million to $83.85 million.
The PeckShield spokesperson stated that the assaults, the place a scammer poses as a trusted particular person or group to steal delicate data, stay a lingering subject.
Associated: Touring? ‘Evil Twin’ WiFi networks can steal crypto passwords
“Phishing stays essentially the most persistent risk. As a substitute of attempting to hack the contract, unhealthy actors are more and more centered on hacking the human,” they added.
“It’s crucial for each establishments and whales to undertake multi-sig chilly storage options and strictly guard their wallets and personal keys.”
Journal: Would Bitcoin actually be at $200K if not for Jane Avenue? Commerce Secrets and techniques
