Crypto Journalist
Amin Ayan
Crypto Journalist
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The value of cryptocurrency stolen through exploits and scams surged to $370.3 million in January 2026, marking the highest monthly total in 11 months and a sharp increase from the same period a year earlier, according to data from blockchain security firm CertiK.
Key Takeaways:
- Crypto losses surged to $370.3 million in January, the highest level in 11 months.
- Phishing and social engineering drove most losses, led by a single $284 million scam.
- Exploits continued, with major hacks at Step Finance and Truebit.
CertiK said that while at least 40 exploit and scam incidents were recorded during the month, the bulk of the losses stemmed from a single case.
One victim reportedly lost around $284 million in a large-scale social engineering attack, highlighting how individual incidents can heavily skew monthly figures.
Phishing Drives $311M in Crypto Losses as January Theft Surges
Phishing scams were the dominant vector overall, accounting for $311.3 million of the total stolen.
January’s losses represent a nearly fourfold rise from January 2025, when attackers made off with $98 million, and more than triple December’s total of $117.8 million.
The figure is the highest since February 2025, when total monthly losses reached about $1.5 billion following the $1.4 billion hack of crypto exchange Bybit, CertiK said.
While phishing and scams drove most of the damage, on-chain exploits remained a persistent threat.
Blockchain security firm PeckShield reported that the largest hack in January targeted Step Finance, a decentralized finance portfolio tracker on Solana.
Attackers drained roughly $28.9 million after compromising several treasury wallets, siphoning more than 261,000 SOL.
The second-largest exploit involved the Truebit protocol, which lost about $26.4 million on Jan. 8 after a smart contract flaw allowed an attacker to mint tokens at minimal cost, triggering a sharp drop in the price of the TRU token.
PeckShield also flagged a $13.3 million hack on SwapNet and a $7 million exploit affecting the Saga network.
PeckShield counted 16 hacks in total during January, resulting in $86 million in losses. While that figure was slightly lower than a year earlier, it marked a notable increase from December, underscoring the continued volatility of crypto security risks.
Crypto Crime Hits Record $154B in 2025, Chainalysis Says
Crypto-related crime remains a growing concern. According to Chainalysis, illicit cryptocurrency addresses received a record $154 billion in 2025, a sharp increase from the year before.
In another case, US prosecutors have charged a 23-year-old Brooklyn resident, Ronald Spektor, with stealing roughly $16 million in cryptocurrency from around 100 Coinbase users through an alleged phishing and social engineering scheme.
According to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, Spektor posed as a Coinbase employee and contacted victims claiming their funds were at immediate risk, pressuring them to transfer crypto to wallets he controlled.
Authorities said the scheme relied on panic tactics rather than technical hacks. Operating under the online alias “lolimfeelingevil,” Spektor allegedly warned victims of imminent theft to override skepticism and force quick decisions.
