According to Bitrace’s 2025 Crypto Crime Report, crypto-related fraud increased sharply in 2024. High-risk Ethereum (ETH) and Tron network blockchain addresses received over $278 billion in digital assets. These addresses are often connected to fraud or illegal activities and are used more to transfer and store cryptocurrencies, especially stablecoins.
Illegal Financial Activity Focus on Ethereum and Tron
The report highlights the increasing risk of illegal financial activity in decentralized finance (DeFi).
In 2024, addresses marked as “high risk” received over $649 billion in stablecoins, a significant rise from the previous year. This amount illustrates how malicious actors continue to take advantage of blockchain networks, even as regulators try to impose stricter rules and compliance measures.
Furthermore, Bitrace’s report highlights a significant increase in stablecoin transfers to wallets linked to fraud. In 2024, these wallets received $52.5 billion in stablecoins.
This trend shows that criminals increasingly choose stablecoins because they are less volatile and allow quick transactions. The report also shows that 5.14% of the total stablecoin transaction volume on major networks came from high-risk addresses.
Crypto Investment Fraud- A Global Pandemic
Meanwhile, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported a significant increase in losses associated with crypto scams in 2023.
The FBI reported a 53% spike in cases in the United States alone. The report also revealed a surge in cryptocurrency-related losses from $2.57 billion in 2022 to around $3.94 billion in 2023.
The concerning trend of increasing cryptocurrency-related fraud is not confined to the United States; other countries around the globe are also grappling with similar issues. So far, no continent seems to have been spared from crypto fraud. In 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) accused Crypto entrepreneur Peter Kambolin of defrauding investors both at home and abroad.
That same year, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission revealed that Australians lost 221.3 million Australian dollars ($146.9 million) to investment scams.
Global Authorities Step Up Crypto Fraud Crackdown
As cryptocurrency adoption grows globally, regulators and law enforcement agencies face mounting challenges in combating fraudulent activities in the crypto space. Earlier in the year, the Vietnam police apprehended four individuals involved in a crypto mining scam that defrauded over 200 victims of almost $157,300.
Likewise, the Massachusetts police department has issued warnings about the rise of cryptocurrency ATM scams. Meanwhile, blockchain security firm PeckShield recently reported that cryptocurrency-related scams and hacks resulted in over $3 billion in losses in 2024.
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