April set an anti-record in the world of cryptocurrencies and hackers are to blame

April 2026 will go down in the history of the cryptocurrency market as the most destructive month in terms of stolen funds since March 2022. According to analytical platforms DefiLlama and Certik, 29 hacker attacks were recorded during the month, and the total amount of losses amounted to $ 651 million.

The Drift and Kelp DAO platforms suffered the biggest blow, with $ 579 million of the total amount being hacked. It was these two incidents that actually determined the scale of the month-long disaster for the entire industry.

In the Drift case, the trail leads to North Korean hackers. Analytical company TRM Labs has estimated that groups linked to the DPRK have been involved in 76% of all stolen crypto assets since the beginning of this year, an indicator that shows the systematic and well-organized nature of the attacks.

The hacking of the Balancer smart contract, a tool that has been considered a benchmark of reliability for years, deserves special attention. The hackers managed to bypass proven security, which has caused serious concern among cybersecurity professionals and investors.

The wave of hacks has already affected the reputation of decentralized finance (DeFi) in the eyes of major players. JPMorgan analysts said that the accumulated vulnerabilities and stalled development of the DeFi sector «hinder its integration into traditional banking structures,» a signal that the industry cannot ignore.