TL;DR
- PeckShield recorded 55 crypto hacks in September totaling $766.49 million, up 462% from August, while another tracker estimated $768.4 million across 97 incidents.
- Bitget’s roughly $387 million breach and Liquid Network’s $320 million exploit dominated the month, although about $285 million from the Liquid incident was later returned.
- September became 2026’s worst month for crypto security losses, underscoring how a few large infrastructure failures can heavily distort monthly industry totals.
Crypto security losses surged to their highest monthly level of 2026 in September, with two trackers placing stolen funds above $766 million. PeckShield data counted 55 major hacks totaling $766.49 million, a 462% increase from August’s $136.3 million, while a separate estimate reached $768.4 million across 97 incidents. The spike renews attention on how exchanges, sidechains and private keys are secured. September’s record was driven overwhelmingly by a small number of exceptionally large breaches rather than uniform losses across the sector.
#PeckShieldAlert In Sep. 2026, the crypto industry experienced 55 major hacks, resulting in total losses of $766.49M – a ~462% month-over-month increase from August's $136.3M.
The #Bitget incident (~$387M) and #LiquidNetwork (~$320M, with $285M returned) have jumped to #1 & #2… pic.twitter.com/abePPGX7Y5
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) October 1, 2026
Bitget and Liquid Network Dominate September Losses
Bitget accounted for roughly $387 million of PeckShield’s monthly total after attackers breached the exchange in late September. The incident became the largest crypto theft tracked in 2026, surpassing earlier exploits that had dominated yearly rankings. Bitget alone represented more than half of September’s reported stolen value, reinforcing the outsized impact that a single infrastructure compromise can have on monthly industry statistics. The breach also extended concerns raised by the revised $387.5 million Bitget loss.
Liquid Network followed with an exploit valued near $320 million. PeckShield said approximately $285 million was subsequently returned, substantially reducing the net economic damage even though the original amount still appears in gross monthly hack totals. The distinction between funds initially stolen and funds ultimately unrecovered is critical when interpreting September’s record, particularly after the Liquid Network security breach resulted in significant asset recovery.
Smaller incidents added to the total but were far below the two dominant breaches. The reference data lists Safe Wallet at $7.8 million, DCENT at $6 million and Duelbits at $5.9 million. Meanwhile, the alternative tracker counted 656 security incidents during 2026 and cumulative losses of $2.68 billion. Different monitoring firms use different methodologies and incident thresholds, explaining why September’s totals and attack counts do not match exactly, even though both datasets identify the month as the year’s most damaging.
The September surge follows a difficult year for crypto security. Earlier periods produced major bridge, wallet and infrastructure attacks, with the second quarter alone recording hundreds of millions of dollars in stolen assets. Analysis has highlighted persistent security pressure across crypto protocols. September shows how quickly monthly losses can accelerate when several high-value systems fail within the same period, keeping operational security, recovery mechanisms and incident response central to the industry’s risk profile.
