Crypto Institutions Shift Focus from Audits to Continuous Monitoring

Crypto institutions are reassessing project security standards, according to a report from blockchain security company Hacken. The Q2 2026 Security and Compliance Report found that only 9% of the 1,427 projects it tracks have implemented third-party continuous monitoring mechanisms. This is despite the fact that 88.3% of the approximately $764 million in crypto asset losses in Q2 2026 were due to private key leaks, signature authority, and infrastructure security issues.

The report also noted that all 14 projects attacked in Q2 had previously undergone audits, but the majority of losses stemmed from areas outside the scope of traditional audits. Institutional investors are now including evaluations of signature changes, collateral support, third-party dependencies, incident response capability, as well as the scope and timeliness of audits in their due diligence.

Hacken warned that projects lacking ongoing security assurance may face higher risk premiums, fewer investment opportunities, and greater difficulty in obtaining insurance and partner support. Federico Bagiotti, Head of Risk Management at Abraxas Capital, stated that 'compared to project potential, whether security levels match the scale of funds has become a key criterion for institutional investment decisions.'