Crypto exploit losses fall 90% in May to $68M: CertiK
CertiK says crypto exploit losses dropped to $68.3 million in May from $650 million in April. Cross-chain bridges and code flaws accounted for much of the damage.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
CertiK says May was a much quieter month for crypto hacks than April, with losses sliding to $68.3 million. Most of the damage came from code flaws and bridge attacks, while some funds were recovered.
Crypto platforms are like digital banks and bridges. In May, the thieves broke in far less often than they did in April, and the total loss dropped a lot.
The biggest weak spots were buggy software and secret keys that got stolen. Bridges, which move assets between different crypto systems, were hit the hardest.
It is like a town where fewer houses were robbed this month, but the burglars still found the doors that were left unlocked. The article says some money was recovered too, which helped a little.
Analysis
Monthly loss trend
CertiK says exploit losses across crypto platforms fell to $68.3 million in May, down nearly 90% from the $650 million recorded in April. The company said May was the third month of 2026 to come in below the $100 million mark, which suggests a sharp pullback after April’s unusually heavy damage.
Where the money went
The biggest reported loss in May came from Verus Protocol’s cross-chain bridge on May 18, with $11.5 million stolen. THORChain was next, after a mid-May exploit that took $10.1 million. CertiK said code vulnerabilities made up the largest share of losses for the month, at about 66% or roughly $45 million. Wallet or private key compromises were the second-largest category, with $13.7 million stolen.
Cross-chain bridges were the most targeted structure overall, accounting for $28.6 million, or 42% of monthly losses. DeFi protocols were also hit. DeFiLlama data cited in the article shows 29 incidents in May, including seven cases tied to compromised private keys. The latest two incidents mentioned were Alephium Bridge and Gravity Bridge, which were exploited for $815,000 and $5.4 million respectively.
Recovery and context
CertiK said around $9.4 million was recovered or returned in May, while about $2.6 million of the month’s stolen funds were linked to phishing attacks. The article also notes a broader concern: malware built with AI help is becoming more common, with attackers targeting crypto and AI developers by tampering with code repositories and misleading coding assistants.
Key points
- CertiK said crypto exploit losses fell to $68.3 million in May from $650 million in April.
- May was the third month of 2026 with reported losses below $100 million.
- Code vulnerabilities caused about 66% of the month’s losses, or roughly $45 million.
- Cross-chain bridges were the most targeted area, with $28.6 million in losses.
- About $9.4 million was recovered or returned during the month.
