43 incidents, $199 million: the number of attacks has hit a record high, but losses are only a fraction of those in peak years
According to data from DeFiLlama, as of October 21, 2026, the DeFi sector had recorded 43 price manipulation attacks 🦖—surpassing the previous annual record of 27, set in 2022. But total losses were around $199 million, far less than the billions stolen each year that many people may remember.
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What’s even more striking is the breakdown: the Tectonic incident alone accounted for around $124.5 million. The other 42 incidents combined amounted to just about $74.5 million, or roughly $1.77 million per incident on average. And 32 of them involved losses of less than $1 million apiece.
Put simply, hackers haven’t suddenly gotten stronger—the cost of attacking has gone down ⚠️. Oracles and price feeds for large pools have been repeatedly strengthened, making each attack costly and its potential payoff uncertain. So attackers have shifted their focus to long-tail assets, small pools, new protocols, and thinly traded markets. They take hundreds of thousands to a few million dollars at a time, but do it more frequently. Individual attacks may not look dramatic, but the cumulative losses add up steadily.
The typical path for these attacks isn’t complicated: first, manipulate the price in a low-liquidity market, then exploit a protocol that relies on that price to issue loans, liquidate positions, or mint tokens based on the mispriced value. The thing being compromised isn’t the private key—it’s the price feed ⚖️
For small projects, the number 43 matters more than $199 million. That’s because 32 incidents caused losses of less than $1 million. Cases like these usually don’t make headlines or trigger an industry-wide review, but they can still wipe a team out completely.
For everyday users, the takeaway is simple: don’t let the lack of a major hack this year lull you into a false sense of security. The real measures of risk are how deep the pool you’re interacting with is and how many price feeds it uses 📉
Bitcoin is currently around $80,700, and Ethereum is around $2,356. Market sentiment is already fragile, and when security incidents become more frequent, investors are more inclined to stick with mainstream assets.
What do you think DeFi’s next wave of growth will bring: solving security issues first, or bringing users back with yield? Share your thoughts in the comments 👀
Tap the profile picture to watch the livestream.
Every day, we bring you the latest in crypto security and fund flows—not just what’s happening, but the logic and opportunities behind it 🚀
According to data from DeFiLlama, as of October 21, 2026, the DeFi sector had recorded 43 price manipulation attacks 🦖—surpassing the previous annual record of 27, set in 2022. But total losses were around $199 million, far less than the billions stolen each year that many people may remember.
⚡ 有大动静群里说
What’s even more striking is the breakdown: the Tectonic incident alone accounted for around $124.5 million. The other 42 incidents combined amounted to just about $74.5 million, or roughly $1.77 million per incident on average. And 32 of them involved losses of less than $1 million apiece.
Put simply, hackers haven’t suddenly gotten stronger—the cost of attacking has gone down ⚠️. Oracles and price feeds for large pools have been repeatedly strengthened, making each attack costly and its potential payoff uncertain. So attackers have shifted their focus to long-tail assets, small pools, new protocols, and thinly traded markets. They take hundreds of thousands to a few million dollars at a time, but do it more frequently. Individual attacks may not look dramatic, but the cumulative losses add up steadily.
The typical path for these attacks isn’t complicated: first, manipulate the price in a low-liquidity market, then exploit a protocol that relies on that price to issue loans, liquidate positions, or mint tokens based on the mispriced value. The thing being compromised isn’t the private key—it’s the price feed ⚖️
For small projects, the number 43 matters more than $199 million. That’s because 32 incidents caused losses of less than $1 million. Cases like these usually don’t make headlines or trigger an industry-wide review, but they can still wipe a team out completely.
For everyday users, the takeaway is simple: don’t let the lack of a major hack this year lull you into a false sense of security. The real measures of risk are how deep the pool you’re interacting with is and how many price feeds it uses 📉
Bitcoin is currently around $80,700, and Ethereum is around $2,356. Market sentiment is already fragile, and when security incidents become more frequent, investors are more inclined to stick with mainstream assets.
What do you think DeFi’s next wave of growth will bring: solving security issues first, or bringing users back with yield? Share your thoughts in the comments 👀
Tap the profile picture to watch the livestream.
Every day, we bring you the latest in crypto security and fund flows—not just what’s happening, but the logic and opportunities behind it 🚀