CertiK Puts 2026 Crypto Losses at Record $9.2 Billion

Crypto security firm CertiK reported about $6.5 billion lost to exploits and phishing in October, pushing its 2026 tally to roughly $9.2 billion—what it called the “highest losses on record.”

The headline figure measures gross losses. CertiK's live security dashboard, updated Oct. 31, lists 89 October incidents and $3.03 billion in frozen or returned funds, leaving $3.47 billion in adjusted losses.

Binance's roughly $6.3 billion breach was the main driver, according to CertiK's October incident graphic. The exchange confirmed that its hot wallets were compromised on Oct. 29, resulting in approximately $6.3 billion in stolen assets.

October far exceeds the $766.4 million September alert that The Defiant previously covered. CertiK had called September the year's highest-loss month at the time. These are the figures published in its monthly alerts, rather than subsequently revised dashboard totals.

For an annual benchmark, CertiK's 2025 report summary put that year's losses at about $3.35 billion. October's gross losses alone exceed that figure.

Binance Pledges to Cover Losses

Blockchain investigator TRM Labs independently traced approximately $6.36 billion in outflows across ten blockchains, valuing transfers at the time of the theft.

In its Oct. 30 recovery update, Binance said approximately $3 billion had been frozen onchain and pledged to cover all stolen funds through its Secure Asset Fund for Users and corporate treasury, rather than pass the loss to users.

The exchange said withdrawals were paused while it reviewed and repaired affected systems. It plans to have updated proof-of-reserves results ready by Nov. 2, giving users a new view of platform assets backing their balances.