April 2026 experienced a historic rise in crypto hacks, totaling $647 million in losses, with North Korean groups significantly involved.
April 2026 marked a historic peak in hacking incidents within the cryptocurrency sector, as reported by DefiLlama. The month witnessed a staggering $647 million in losses attributed to various breaches, with cross-chain bridges and mixers being utilized to launder the stolen assets.
In total, 40 significant hacking events were recorded, representing a 1140% increase in losses compared to March's $52.2 million. CertiK confirmed losses at $651 million, indicating that while the total amount wasn't a record, the sheer number of attacks was unprecedented. Notably, on April 1, hackers executed a rapid assault on Drift Protocol on Solana, draining $285 million within just 12 minutes, marking it as one of the largest attacks to date.
Further complicating the situation, the Kelp liquid restaking protocol was breached on April 17, resulting in the theft of around $293 million. Investigations by Chainalysis, TRM Labs, and Elliptic linked these attacks to North Korean hacker groups, which reportedly accounted for approximately 76% of all cryptocurrency losses in the first quarter of 2026, totaling around $577 million.
In addition to these major hacks, numerous smaller incidents were reported, including breaches at Wasabi ($5 million), Volo ($3.5 million), and Syndicate ($330,000). As hackers swiftly convert stolen coins into Bitcoin through cross-chain bridges, exchanges are tightening their monitoring of suspicious transactions.
Impact on Users
For everyday users, the ramifications of these hacks are significant. The increased scrutiny by exchanges means that even legitimate transactions may be flagged if they involve services that have been associated with past hacks. For instance, using CoinJoin for privacy could inadvertently categorize a user’s assets as high-risk due to their connection with compromised services.
“CoinJoin transactions are easily identifiable on-chain. AML services automatically increase the risk score of such assets, and exchanges often block funds after mixing,” stated Mixer.Money.
CoinJoin mixes coins from various users, which can lead to legitimate funds unintentionally being linked to illicit activities. As a result, on-chain analytics are flagging these transactions as high-risk.
Maintaining Anonymity Without Risk
To navigate these challenges, users are encouraged to utilize services that obscure the transaction trail. Mixer.Money offers a “Full Anonymity” mode that allows users to break the on-chain link by using exchange reserves, making it appear as a standard withdrawal to analytics tools. This is achieved through a process where user Bitcoins are split and sent to independent traders before being returned as new coins from exchanges.
“Unlike CoinJoin, our algorithm excludes mixing clients' funds with each other. The user receives an equivalent amount of coins recently withdrawn from exchanges with a completely different history,” explained Mixer.Money.
They provide three service modes: basic privacy for a 1% fee, maximum protection for 4-5% fee, and an exact payment service for quick transfers. No registration is required, and users can test the service with a small transfer.
Avoiding Potential Blocks
Given the current landscape of hacks, experts advise against using CoinJoin and similar anonymization tools, as they may draw unwanted attention from exchanges. To minimize risks, it is crucial to check risk scores before making deposits and to choose services whose outputs are less likely to be flagged by analytics.
“The main mistake is sending coins from a CoinJoin mixer directly to a CEX deposit. This is the fastest way to get blocked,” summarized Mixer.Money.
In addition to cautious mixing practices, users should also enhance their overall crypto security. Recommendations include revoking old permissions granted to DeFi protocols and transferring significant holdings to hardware wallets, which offer enhanced protection against hacks.
Ultimately, the events of April serve as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities in the crypto space, urging users to exercise caution and vigilance in their transactions and storage practices.
