Crypto protocol hacking losses have surged this month, bringing decentralised finance (DeFi) security risks back into focus.
BeInCrypto, a blockchain media outlet, reported on Sunday that hacking losses have topped $606.2 million in the first 18 days of April. It is the largest monthly loss total since February 2025. The figure is already far above total losses of $165.5 million for the first quarter of this year.
The spike was driven by two hacks, KelpDAO and Drift Protocol. The two incidents accounted for about 95 percent of April’s total and 75 percent of this year’s cumulative losses of $771.8 million. KelpDAO lost more than $290 million on April 18, the biggest single hack case this year, and Drift Protocol also suffered losses of about $285 million.
The month is notable because the losses occurred without a major centralised exchange incident. Since February 2025, monthly losses had stayed below $240 million, but that figure was distorted by the Bybit hack of $1.4 billion. April’s losses, by contrast, stemmed from vulnerabilities in DeFi infrastructure itself, suggesting the flow of attacks is shifting rapidly into decentralised areas.
Losses have expanded further in recent days. Related incidents have followed at Versel, Hyperbridge, the Grinex exchange and Lea Finance, pushing up the number of cases quickly. Over about 4.5 months this year, DeFi hacking incidents total 47, up about 68 percent from 28 a year earlier.
Market reactions also emerged immediately. After the KelpDAO hack, DeFi total value locked (TVL) fell by more than 7 percent over 24 hours. Aave alone dropped sharply, falling from about $26.4 billion to around $17.9 billion.
The industry views hacking losses as having structural effects beyond the headline numbers. One analyst said, “Collateral damage such as TVL, user trust, project valuation and overall market investment sentiment is not reflected in official figures.” The analyst added, “DeFi may remain a limited area until risks are sufficiently priced in.”
The pullback in investment sentiment is also clear. Analyst Ted Pillows said just after the KelpDAO hack, “It was a bad 24 hours for the image of the crypto industry.” Around the same period, some tokens plunged 95 percent in a single day, wiping out tens of billions of dollars in market value and adding to market unease.
This year’s pace of cumulative losses is below the surge seen after the 2025 Bybit incident, but the number of cases continues to rise. The industry sees the next few weeks as a turning point for gauging DeFi projects’ ability to respond on infrastructure security. Market attention is also focused on whether April’s sharp rise in hacks will prove temporary or set the tone for the rest of the year.
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