According to Chainalysis's estimate, crypto-related fraud and scams may have caused losses exceeding $17 billion in 2025.
The blockchain-specialized company also highlighted a concerning trend: fraudsters are increasingly using identity forgery as a tool in their scams to mislead users. According to the report, these scams grew by nearly 1,400% over the year.
Crypto-crime reaches new highs in 2025, losses could rise to $17,000,000,000.00
The year 2025 is expected to be the peak year for crypto-crime, as hacking and fraud heavily strained the industry. According to Chainalysis's latest report, crypto fraud generated at least $14 billion in cryptocurrency within the year.
The company stated this indicated clear growth from the $9.9 billion reported at the beginning of 2024. However, the report revealed that the revised figure increased again to $12 billion after recalculation.
This correction closely matches Chainalysis's previous estimate of $12.4 billion for the year. Thus, Chainalysis estimates that the final loss total for 2025 will likely rise further.
"Based on historical trends, where our annual estimates grow on average 24% between reporting periods, we forecast that the 2025 total could exceed $17 billion, as we identify more criminal wallets in the coming months," the report states.
Chainalysis also reports a significant increase in the average amount of payments received from fraud, rising from $782 in 2024 to $2,764 in 2025. This represents approximately a 253% year-on-year increase.
Chainalysis highlights a concerning growth in traceable crypto-fraud cases.
In particular, the report emphasizes identity forgery-based scams as an 'extremely concerning development.' The number and impact of these scams have increased significantly. In these scams, fraudulent individuals pose as trusted persons, companies, or platforms to trick victims into sending cryptocurrency or revealing sensitive information from their wallets.
"Identity forgery-based tactics grew by an astonishing 1,400% over the year... The average amount paid to these groups increased by over 600%," Chainalysis stated.
The report cites the 'E-ZPass' scam campaign as an example, where attackers targeted Americans via SMS messages, pretending to be a state toll collection service.
In another case, fraudsters posed as a stock exchange customer service and stole nearly $16 million in the name of the Coinbase service.
Chainalysis states that high-yield investment programs (HYIP) and so-called 'pig butchering' scams remain the most prevalent fraud categories by volume. However, fraudsters are now also using artificial intelligence, advanced SMS scam services, and complex money laundering networks, giving them more effective methods to target victims.
"Traditional fraud categories are becoming increasingly indistinguishable, as fraudsters combine various methods in their operations. For example, many 'pig butchering' and investment scams incorporate elements of identity forgery, social manipulation, as well as technical or wallet-targeted fraud," the team noted.
How does artificial intelligence increase the efficiency and scale of crypto-fraud?
At the same time, Chainalysis examined the growing role of artificial intelligence in fraud operations. According to the company's analysis, fraud clusters linked to AI services via the blockchain are clearly more effective than other similar operations.
On average, AI-linked fraud operations generated about $3.2 million per operation, while other scams collected approximately $719,000.
These operations also demonstrated strong daily performance, with an average of $4,838 per day, compared to $518 per day for other scams. Additionally, they processed significantly more transactions per day than other frauds.
"These metrics indicate both greater operational efficiency and broader reach of victims. The increase in transaction volume suggests that AI enables targeting and managing an ever-growing number of victims simultaneously – aligning with the industrialization of fraud we've observed. On the other hand, the rise in the number of frauds indicates that AI also makes fraud more attractive," Chainalysis stated.
Chainalysis warned that these developments point to a future in which nearly all fraud operations will involve some form of artificial intelligence use.