July ranked as the second-worst month of 2026 for cryptocurrency thefts, with hackers stealing $247.4 million across protocols and wallets, according to on-chain data compiled by DefiLlama.
The total was more than triple the $75 million stolen in June and the $60 million recorded in May. The largest single incident was an exploit targeting Coldcard hardware wallets, which accounted for more than $100 million in Bitcoin losses.
April 2026 remains the year's worst month, with $644 million stolen.
The Coldcard exploit hit at least 7,300 wallets across three confirmed attack waves, according to Galaxy Digital. Initial estimates placed Bitcoin losses from those waves above $100 million. Galaxy Digital also identified a suspected fourth wave that could push total Coldcard-related losses to roughly $130 million. DefiLlama's hack tracker separately estimated Coldcard losses at $115 million.
CryptoRank said July showed cold storage solutions do not eliminate technological risk and that such vulnerabilities can simultaneously affect thousands of wallets.
Several DeFi protocols and bridges were also hit in July. Bonzo Lend, a lending protocol, lost $9 million. SecondFi, a Cardano-based wallet, lost $2.6 million. Arbitrum-based perpetual exchange AFX sustained a $24 million exploit, draining on-chain trading liquidity. Bridge infrastructure took losses as well, with $7.5 million stolen through the Verus Ethereum Bridge.
