Crypto Hack Losses Plunge 60% in December—Is the Industry Finally Getting Smarter?
Crypto's bleeding just slowed to a trickle. New data reveals a dramatic 60% drop in hack-related losses last month—the kind of headline that makes even the most hardened skeptic raise an eyebrow.
The Silver Lining Playbook
For an industry that's been a playground for digital bandits, a 60% cut in monthly losses isn't just good news—it's a potential inflection point. It suggests that the billions poured into security audits, smarter contract design, and real-time monitoring might actually be paying off. Exchanges and protocols are finally moving from reactive panic to proactive defense.
Where the Money Didn't Go
The drop didn't happen by accident. It's the result of a brutal, expensive education. Every major exploit from the past few years forced a rewrite of the rulebook. Teams are now layering defenses, implementing circuit-breakers, and—shockingly—starting to listen to white-hat hackers before the black hats strike. It's a shift from 'build fast and break things' to 'build resilient or get rekt.'
A Cautious Victory Lap
Let's not throw a parade just yet. One month of improved stats doesn't mean the war is won. The incentives for attackers are still astronomical, and a single smart contract flaw can undo months of progress overnight. But a 60% decline is a data point you can't ignore. It signals that the industry's immune system is getting stronger, even if the pathogens are constantly evolving.
In the end, the real test isn't a quiet December—it's whether this trend holds when the next bull run frenzy hits and developers are pressured to ship code at warp speed again. After all, in traditional finance, they just lose your money slowly and call it a management fee.
December Losses Fall 60%
PeckShield tracked roughly 26 major exploits during the month. The largest single hit was an address poisoning scam that took about $50 million. In that scheme, victims were tricked into sending funds to an address that looked almost identical to a legitimate one.
Other large losses included a $27 million drain from a multi-signature wallet tied to a private key leak, about $7 million tied to a Trust Wallet exploit, and roughly $3.9 million linked to issues involving the FLOW protocol. These figures were reported across multiple outlets and match the totals PeckShield compiled.
#PeckShieldAlert December 2025 witnessed ~26 major crypto exploits, resulting in total losses of ~$76M.
This figure represents a decrease of over 60% from November’s total of $194.27M, marking a significant reduction in monthly losses.
Notably:
Wallet 0xcB80…819 lost $50M… pic.twitter.com/CNW3R6646j
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) January 1, 2026
Major Scams Still Cause Big Damage
Address poisoning stood out because it relies on human error rather than a broken protocol. A small mistake — copying the wrong address — could wipe out a large transfer.
Trust Wallet’s loss was linked to a browser extension weakness that allowed attackers to MOVE funds. In some cases, reimbursements were being discussed by affected services.
Reports have disclosed that private key exposure, even in wallets meant to be secure, continues to be a common root cause of big losses.
Some experts say the fall in dollar losses reflects fewer massive breaches, not a vanishing of threats. Security teams have been more active, and some wallets tightened checks.
But the methods used by attackers did not disappear. Scams that prey on mistakes, like the address trick, are still in play, and sophisticated intrusions remain possible.
It was observed that a handful of incidents accounted for the bulk of December’s total, which helps explain the large swing in monthly totals.
Close monitoring into these trends by regulators and other stakeholders like platform operators will continue as well. There have been growing pressures to provide better protections for exchanges and other wallets when there has been a breach; and for more timely actions after the compromise has been identified.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
