In recent analysis by PeckShield, the landscape of crypto security has shown a notable improvement, with reported losses from hacks plummeting by approximately 60% in December. This decline has seen losses drop from around $194 million in November to about $76 million.
The significant decrease in losses is primarily attributed to a reduction in large-scale breaches. Nonetheless, the cyber incidents that did occur were still quite impactful. Various scams and technological vulnerabilities continued to jeopardize the safety of investors, making December a month of mixed outcomes.
Sharp Decline in December’s Losses
According to PeckShield’s research, there were around 26 notable hacking incidents over the month. The most substantial single event involved an address spoofing scam that amounted to a staggering $50 million. Victims were deceived into transferring funds to an address that closely mimicked a legitimate wallet.
Other significant losses during this period included $27 million stolen from a multi-signature wallet due to a compromised private key, around $7 million associated with a Trust Wallet exploit, and approximately $3.9 million linked to problems with the Flow protocol. The data corroborated by multiple sources aligns with the findings presented by PeckShield.
#PeckShieldAlert In December 2025, approximately 26 significant exploits were recorded, collectively leading to about $76 million in losses.
This marks a remarkable fall of over 60% compared to November’s figure of $194.27 million, indicating a considerable drop in total losses.
It is noteworthy that:
The wallet 0xcB80…819 experienced a loss of $50 million… pic.twitter.com/CNW3R6646j— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) January 1, 2026
Major Exploits and Ongoing Risks
Address spoofing has emerged as a notable type of scam, primarily exploiting simple human errors. A minuscule oversight—like copying an incorrect wallet address—can result in devastating losses.
The exploitation of Trust Wallet stemmed from a vulnerability in a browser extension, which enabled attackers to divert funds easily. Some of the impacted services are currently considering compensation for those affected.
Reports highlight that the risk of private key exposure, even within supposedly secure wallets, remains a frequent cause of significant monetary losses.
Experts assert that the decline in dollar losses does not imply a reduction in overall threats but rather reflects a decrease in high-profile breaches. Security measures have improved significantly, and certain wallets have strengthened their protocols.
The strategies employed by attackers are still prevalent, with scams that rely on trivial mistakes, such as the address spoofing trick, continuing to pose risks. Advanced intrusions are still very much a possibility.
It has been observed that a limited number of incidents contributed to the vast majority of December’s total losses, which explains the volatile monthly figures.
Stakeholders, including regulatory bodies and platform operators, are likely to keep a close watch on these trends. There is increasing pressure to enhance security measures for exchanges and wallets, particularly after breaches occur, and to act swiftly once compromises are detected.
Featured image courtesy of Unsplash; chart sourced from TradingView
