Crypto analytics firm Chainalysis said as much as $17 billion was lost to crypto scams and fraud in 2025, according to its latest report. In the 2026 Crypto Crime Report published on Jan. 13, the firm said criminals are using impersonation tactics and artificial intelligence to scale how they identify targets and steal funds.
The report said impersonation scams, fake crypto exchange schemes, and AI-generated fraud aimed at individuals are gradually overtaking cyberattacks as the main methods used by malicious actors. That shift changes the picture of where major crypto losses now come from. Hacks remain a threat, but a growing share of losses is tied to something harder to fix than vulnerable code: human trust.
Impersonation scams grew fast as criminals chased larger payouts
Chainalysis said impersonation scams alone rose 1,400% year over year, while the average payment size climbed sharply. The firm said criminals are moving away from broad, low-yield campaigns and toward fewer targets with larger returns.
It also found that AI-enabled scams were 4.5 times more profitable than traditional scams. Deepfakes and automated tools are making it easier to mass-produce fake support agents, government notices, and supposedly trusted insiders, lowering the effort needed to run convincing fraud operations.
UK case showed how fear and panic are being weaponized
One example cited in the coverage involved a man in the U.K. who lost nearly $2.5 million in a bitcoin scam in 2025. Police described it as a “disturbing new trend,” saying scammers exploit fear and panic to build sophisticated social engineering schemes that can deceive even careful holders. North Wales police made those remarks to the BBC.
In an April 2024 report, the North Wales Cyber Unit said that between 2020 and the end of 2023, nearly 100,000 people in the U.K. fell victim to investment scams, with losses totaling £2.6 billion. The unit added that those numbers cover only reported scams, meaning the real figure could be much higher.
XBO executive says the attacks depend on urgency and trust
Lior Aizik, co-founder and chief operating officer at crypto exchange XBO, said the trend matches what he has seen directly. He said impersonation scams are increasing across the crypto industry and are becoming more sophisticated. Aizik warned users not to share sensitive data even if they believe they are speaking to legitimate support staff, and said people should never transfer crypto to anyone if a message feels urgent or secretive.
Aizik added that scammers have impersonated him several times, using fake profiles to contact people in the industry and ask for money while pretending to represent XBO. In his view, those attacks do not rely on technical breakthroughs. They rely on urgency and trust. Chainalysis’ data points in the same direction: crypto crime is no longer defined only by breaches and exploits, but increasingly by deception that appears real enough to get past skepticism.