According to Chainalysis estimates, fraud and fraudulent activities related to crypto assets could cause losses exceeding US$17 billion in 2025
This blockchain data company also highlights a concerning trend, as fraudsters are increasingly using identity spoofing schemes to deceive unsuspecting users. According to the report, identity spoofing fraud has risen nearly 1,400% year-on-year.
Crypto Crime Reaches New Record in 2025, Losses Could Exceed US$17 Billion
2025 became the worst year in the history of cryptocurrency crime, with a surge in hacking and fraud that has pressured the industry. In its latest report, Chainalysis stated that cryptocurrency fraud received at least US$14 billion on-chain during that year.
Chainalysis noted that this surge sharply increased from the initially reported US$9.9 billion for 2024. However, the report revealed that the figure rose to US$12 billion after recalculations.
This update is nearly identical to Chainalysis's previous projection of US$12.4 billion for the year. Therefore, Chainalysis expects total losses in 2025 to likely increase further.
"Based on historical trends, where our annual estimates have increased on average by 24% between reporting periods, we anticipate the figure for 2025 could exceed US$17 billion as we identify more illegal wallet addresses in the coming months," the report stated.
Chainalysis also noted a sharp spike in the average payment value of fraud, rising from US$782 in 2024 to US$2,764 in 2025. This increase indicates a year-on-year surge of approximately 253%.
Chainalysis Highlights Remarkable Growth in AI-Driven Cryptocurrency Fraud
It should be noted that this report marks identity spoofing fraud as a "highly concerning trend," with a significant spike in both the number of cases and their impact. Such schemes typically occur when fraudsters impersonate individuals, companies, or trusted platforms to trick victims into sending cryptocurrency assets or disclosing sensitive wallet information.
"Identity spoofing tactics experienced an extraordinary year-on-year (YoY) growth of 1,400%... with the average severity (i.e., number of payments) to these clusters increasing by over 600%," Chainalysis explained.
One example highlighted in this report is the "E-ZPass" phishing campaign. Attackers targeted American citizens via SMS messages, impersonating a government toll payment service.
Another case involved fraud disguised as an exchange. Scammers impersonated Coinbase customer support teams and successfully stole nearly US$16 million from victims.
Chainalysis highlighted that high-yield investment programs (HYIP) and "pig butchering" schemes remain the primary categories of fraud by volume. However, scammers are now leveraging AI tools, advanced SMS phishing services, and complex money laundering networks to target victims more effectively than before.
"Traditional fraud categories are becoming increasingly blurred as fraudsters combine multiple tactics in their operations. For example, many pig butchering and investment schemes now involve elements of identity spoofing, social engineering, and even technical scams or wallet-targeted scams," the team stated.
How AI Enhances the Efficiency and Scale of Cryptocurrency Fraud?
On the other hand, Chainalysis also investigated the growing role of AI in fraud operations. According to their analysis, fraud clusters with on-chain connections to AI service providers demonstrated significantly higher operational efficiency than those without such links.
On average, AI-connected fraud operations generated around US$3.2 million per operation, compared to approximately US$719,000 for fraud without AI involvement.
These fraud operations also show stronger daily performance, with a median daily income of US$4,838, compared to US$518 for other scams, and process significantly more transactions on average per day.
"This method shows higher operational efficiency and broader victim reach. The increase in transaction volume indicates that AI enables fraudsters to reach and handle more victims simultaneously, consistent with the industrialization of crime trends we have been monitoring. Meanwhile, the rise in fraud volume suggests AI is also making scams more convincing," Chainalysis commented.
Chainalysis warned that this trend points toward a future where nearly all fraud operations will likely adopt AI in some form.
