In 2024, fraudsters operating in the field of cryptocurrencies were able to illegally obtain almost 10 billion US dollars. This amount is expected to increase further as analysts identify new wallets and addresses linked to financial fraud in the coming months.
About this reported Chainalysis, a company specializing in the analysis of blockchain transactions.
Preliminary estimates indicate a possible decline in the profits of crypto-scammers in 2024, but the real numbers may turn out to be record highs. In previous years, the average growth of such criminal income was about 24% on an annual basis. Therefore, the total losses of victims of fraudsters, according to experts’ forecasts, may exceed 12 billion dollars.
One of the most common fraudulent schemes remains the so-called «high-yield investment scam» (HYIS), which works on the principle of a financial pyramid. This type of fraud is responsible for more than half (50.2%) of all funds received by criminals. However, its share in the total volume of crypto fraud decreased by 36.6% compared to 2023.
Instead, another scheme known as «pig butchering» or romance fraud is gaining popularity. The share of such crimes in the overall structure of crypto scams increased by 40% and reached 33.2%. This method consists in the fact that the criminals establish a relationship of trust with the victim, often using a romantic approach, and then convince her to invest money in fictitious cryptocurrency projects or funds.
Fraudsters also actively use artificial intelligence to create fake documents that help them pass verification on crypto exchanges and financial services. According to Alterya, in 85% of cases such scams are carried out using accounts that successfully bypass traditional ID systems.
Regarding the further distribution of the stolen funds, most of the illegally obtained cryptocurrencies are directed to centralized exchanges (CEX). At the same time, decentralized financial platforms (DeFi) are increasingly being used, especially on the Ethereum, Tron and Solana blockchains.
Since the middle of 2023, the role of the Huione Guarantee platform has increased, which not only facilitates money laundering, but also offers a wide range of services for cryptocriminals.
Given the scale of fraud, financial regulators and analytics companies are stepping up efforts to combat cryptocrime, using artificial intelligence and new methods to detect suspicious transactions.
It should be noted that in 2023, the total income of crypto-scammers was estimated at 4.6 billion US dollars, although this figure is probably underestimated because some of the scams have not yet been revealed. A similar situation was observed in 2022: Chainalysis experts initially estimated the income of cryptocriminals at 5.9 billion dollars, but later this figure increased to 6.5 billion after additional research.
Crypto fraud is expected to continue to increase throughout 2025, forcing regulators to tighten their grip on the industry and develop new mechanisms to protect users.
