Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi predicts that total losses from decentralized finance (DeFi) hacks will shrink in 2026 relative to 2025, even as AI‑driven attack scenarios continue to be debated.
Why Losses Are Trending Downward
Qureshi notes that while the count of hacking attempts on DeFi protocols rose over the past year, the average financial hit per breach fell consistently. Attackers appear to be targeting smaller, less defended or abandoned projects rather than the flagship platforms that hold the majority of investor capital. Simultaneously, incidents involving compromised admin keys and multisignature wallets have lessened, signaling maturing security practices across the blockchain ecosystem.
AI‑Related Risks Remain Unproven
Despite extensive speculation about AI automating vulnerability discovery or launching adaptive assaults, Qureshi observes no major AI‑powered hack materialized in 2025. Large DeFi protocols have poured resources into fortifying their infrastructure against both traditional exploits and potential AI threats, keeping the market relatively stable for investors. The prevailing view among industry analysts is that AI’s impact on crypto theft is still theoretical rather than imminent.