AI has not triggered DeFi ‘hackpocalypse,’ Dragonfly partner says
AI has not produced the feared DeFi “hackpocalypse,” according to Haseeb Qureshi. Although the number of incidents hit a record, the median hack size fell below $500,000 this year from over $2 million in 2025, suggesting attackers are mostly hitting small protocols and abandoned projects while major DeFi systems have improved defenses against AI-driven attacks. Even after excluding major outlier events like the Bybit, Drift, and KelpDAO hacks, 2026 has seen less value stolen per month than 2025. However, broader crypto-security data is less reassuring. When centralized platforms, wallets, phishing, and DeFi exploits are included, losses remain substantial, and April saw about $644 million stolen. CertiK also reported that crypto hack losses fell 46.8% in H1 2026 to $1.32 billion, but said the decline mainly reflects the absence of the massive $1.4 billion Bybit hack from last year.
