CEX Hacks: Losses Reach $11.4B as Security Risks Grow
A Biteye review of more than 30 publicly disclosed centralized exchange (CEX) hacks from 2014 to 2026 estimates losses at $11.3 billion to $11.4 billion, using prices at the time of each incident. It says 15 attacks were attributed or linked to North Korean hackers, accounting for nearly 90% of the estimated losses.
CEX hacks have shifted from hot-wallet and private-key theft to attacks targeting multisignature systems, employees, vendors and software supply chains. The incidents include the 2016 Bitfinex theft of about $71 million, the 2024 DMM Bitcoin and WazirX breaches, with reported losses of about $308 million and $230 million, and the 2025 Bybit hack. About 400,000 ETH was stolen in the Bybit incident after a Safe wallet interface was manipulated; losses were estimated at roughly $1.5 billion.
Biteye says 12 major incidents occurred in 2024–2025, close to the total reported for 2014–2022. It also describes alleged 2026 incidents involving Bitget and Binance, whose figures and outcomes remain unconfirmed. About $3 billion in assets connected to the Binance incident had reportedly been frozen, so this is not a confirmed loss estimate.
The review highlights persistent CEX security and custody risks for traders. It recommends that exchanges strengthen employee, vendor and signing-system protections, while users consider passkeys or hardware keys, withdrawal-address allowlists and regular API-permission reviews. The incidents may prompt traders to reduce exchange balances and monitor outflows, but the tally alone does not establish a broad market loss or lasting price trend.
Neutral
The report describes cumulative exchange-security losses across many incidents, rather than a new loss directly affecting the price or fundamentals of one cryptocurrency. The 2025 Bybit incident involved stolen ETH, but the summaries provide no evidence that it caused a lasting change in ETH supply, demand or market structure. The reported 2026 Binance-related figure is also not a confirmed loss, with about $3 billion in associated assets reportedly frozen.
In the short term, new details about hacks can increase risk aversion, encourage withdrawals from exchanges and contribute to volatility if traders interpret outflows as a sign of stress. In the longer term, repeated breaches may affect confidence in exchange custody and increase demand for self-custody and stronger security controls. However, those effects concern exchange platforms and market sentiment broadly; the information provided does not establish a sustained price direction for ETH or another specific cryptocurrency. The price impact on the mentioned cryptocurrency is therefore classified as neutral.