When we hear about cryptocurrency being stolen, we usually picture a genius hacker breaking through heavily guarded computer code in a dark room. But the data from January 2026 tells a completely different story: the biggest weakness right now isn't the technology—it is human nature.

While the $3.7 billion figure you might have seen actually belongs to the entire year of 2022, January 2026 was still a massive shock. In just one month, thieves ran off with a staggering $370 million.

Here is a plain-English breakdown of exactly how that money disappeared last month.

The Code Breakers vs. The Scammers

Out of the $370 million stolen, the methods fell into two very different categories:

* Breaking the code: Hackers stole about $86 million by finding actual flaws in crypto networks.

* Tricking people: Scammers stole over $300 million just by lying and manipulating people into handing over their money.

The $284 Million Mistake

The most shocking event of the month wasn't a complex hack at all. A single person lost $284 million to a very well-planned scam.

Thieves are getting much better at earning trust. Instead of just sending spam emails with bad spelling, they are now using advanced tools like AI to create fake voices and videos (deepfakes). They pretend to be people the victim knows or trusts. Once the victim drops their guard, the scammers trick them into sending their crypto away.

The Networks That Got Hacked

Even though scams were the biggest problem, a few crypto projects still had bugs in their code that hackers took advantage of. The technical thefts mainly happened to a few specific targets:

* Step Finance ($28.9 Million): Thieves managed to break into the project's main digital wallet and drain the funds.

* Truebit Protocol ($26.4 Million): A mistake in the project's code allowed hackers to create new tokens out of thin air for free, which caused the token's price to crash.

* SwapNet ($13.3 Million): Hackers found a loophole to steal from the pools of money users had deposited.

* Saga ($7.0 Million): Attackers found a technical flaw in the network itself.

The Big Takeaway

Crypto networks are actually getting stronger and harder to hack. Because the "digital vaults" are getting tougher to crack, criminals are changing their strategy. Instead of attacking the computers, they are putting all their effort into attacking the people holding the keys.