Attackers stole at least $36.7 million from protocols running unverified smart contracts over the past six months, Chainalysis reported. The firm ties the surge to AI-assisted exploit development.

Large language models (LLMs) can now analyze decompiled bytecode at a speed and scale no human team can match. As a result, closed-source contracts that once deterred attackers have become systematic targets.

Why Hidden Code No Longer Protects DeFi Protocols

Most major Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocols publish and verify their source code on block explorers. However, some keep their code closed, betting that obscurity will shield them from attackers.

Chainalysis found that the bet is failing. Decompilers such as Dedaub,…