- Crypto exploit losses hit $52M across 20 incidents in March
- PeckShield reports a 96% jump from February
- Resolv exploit triggered wider DeFi contagion beyond direct losses
Losses nearly double month-over-month
Crypto-related hacks and exploits accelerated sharply in March, with total losses reaching $52 million. This represents a 96% increase compared to February, signaling that security risks remain elevated despite ongoing improvements in smart contract auditing.
The largest single incident came from the Resolv stablecoin exploit, where attackers minted unbacked tokens and extracted roughly $25 million.
Systemic risks beyond the initial exploit
The real impact extended far beyond the initial theft. The collapse of the USR stablecoin caused an 80% price drop, which in turn created bad debt across multiple DeFi lending platforms such as Morpho, Euler, and Fluid.
This highlights a key structural risk in DeFi: interconnected protocols can amplify losses when a core asset fails.
Rise in physical attacks linked to crypto wealth
In addition to technical exploits, March also saw a violent attack targeting a crypto holder, with funds stolen under coercion. This reflects a growing trend where high-value crypto holders are targeted in real-world incidents.
Overall, the data suggests that both onchain vulnerabilities and offchain risks are increasing as the ecosystem grows.
