In the last decade, cryptocurrency has attracted a lot of buzz and emerged as a rising force in the investment and payment niche.

Top executives and CEOs view crypto as a disruptive force in the financial and business landscape.

However, it’s not just leaders and experts who have taken notice; lawbreakers and fraudsters have also seen an opportunity to exploit this technology.

Using the decentralized and anonymous nature of the cryptocurrency, the offenders came up with loopholes to conduct illicit activities like money laundering, tax evasion, fraud, etc.

The regulatory bodies have established rules and regulations to reduce such fraudulent risks.

The measures taken by regulatory bodies have reduced the crypto crime rate to some extent, but the crimes in the crypto world are yet to end.

We have collected some of the most recent data on crypto crimes, which will give you an idea of the past and present scenarios of crypto crimes.

Total Value Lost To Crypto Hacks

Hacking has been a severe and constant cybersecurity threat for decades. However, hackers have moved from stealing information to stealing funds from crypto accounts.

In 2022, hackers stole $3.7 billion of funds, the highest in the last eight years. The value lost to hacking cases seemed to go down in 2023 and was around $1.7 billion. There was a significant drop of 54.3% in total theft value.

But astonishingly, even though the theft amount was reduced in 2023, the number of reported crypto hacking cases was more than that of 2022. The crypto hack numbers were around 219 in 2022 and rose to 231 in 2023.

Experts highlight the drop in DeFi hacks as the reason for the contrasting figures.

The total value of crypto hacks includes all losses across different platforms, such as DeFi protocols, wallets, centralized services, tokens, etc. Therefore, the value lost in crypto hacking cases varies if the amount stolen in DeFi hacks changes.

Value Stolen From DeFi Protocols

Value stolen over DeFi protocols through hacking events escalated in 2021 and 2022.

The stolen figure on DeFi protocols jumped from 0.1 billion to 2.5 billion from 2020 to 2021. In one year, the losses due to hacking on DeFi platforms went up by 2400%.

And in 2022, the theft value again experienced a 24% surge and reached $3.1 billion. From this, it can be deduced that hacking activities on DeFi protocols skyrocketed in those two years.

However, 2023 showed some positive signs as the losses declined by 35.48% and stood at $1.1 billion. Based on this, it can be concluded that the number of hacks on DeFi platforms is decreasing.

Year Total Value Stolen
2020 $0.1 billion
2021 $2.5 billion
2022 $3.1 billion
2023 1.1 billion

Cryptocurrency Money Laundering Statistics

Money laundering is a shady process that fraudsters use to conceal the origins of illicit funds and then legitimize it for further use.

This process happens over crypto platforms, too. Offenders move funds around in crypto services, where they can be converted to cash while concealing the source of the funds.

The amount of funds sent to crypto services from illicit sources was around $11.1 billion in 2019. But in the next three years, funds from illicit addresses surged by 183.78%, reaching an all-time high in 2022, i.e., $31.5 billion.

In 2023, crypto services reported receiving $24.2 billion from illicit addresses, which was, fortunately, lower than the amount received in 2022. There was a drop of 23.17% in funds sent from illicit addresses.

Analyzing this data, it can be inferred that the funds from illicit addresses are on a downward trend.

Year Total Value Of Money Laundered
2019 $11.1 billion
2020 $9.9 billion
2021 $18.3 billion
2022 $31.5 billion
2023 $24.2 billion

Crypto Illicit Transaction Statistics

According to the reports in 2023, the value of cryptocurrency sent to illicit addresses fell significantly to $24.2 billion, down from $39.6 billion in 2022.

The proportion of illegal transactions within the overall crypto market also decreased, from 0.42% in 2022 to 0.34% in 2023.

In addition to that, Bitcoin, once the top choice for cybercriminals due to its liquidity, has been overtaken by stablecoins, which now account for the majority of illicit transactions.

This shift suggests a growing preference for stablecoins in illegal activities, likely due to their price stability and ease of use.

Crypto Investment Fraud Losses

Crypto investment fraud involves all types of deceitful schemes that result in losses and create victims by exploiting their trust and lack of knowledge in the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency market.

Some types of crypto investment scams that fall within crypto investment frauds are –

Liquidity mining, hacked social media, impersonation scams, Fake ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings), false promises of giving employment, etc.

The crypto investment losses for 2021 and 2022 were $907 million and $2.57 billion, respectively. Based on the data, from 2021 to 2022, the losses in crypto investment frauds skyrocketed by 183%.

However, the amount lost to crypto investment scams seems to have declined in 2023. The amount lost to crypto investment fraud in 2023 was $3.94 billion, a 53.12% increase from 2022.

Although the increase between 2022 and 2023 was substantial, it was lower than the previous year’s surge. However, the scenes are changing in 2024, and crypto investment frauds are rising again.

As of July, after calculating the losses for the entire H1 of 2024, the losses are $1.38 billion, up from $629.68 million reported for Q2 of 2024.

The other half of the year remains, and with the rate at which new crypto scams are increasing, experts predict that the losses will increase, and so will the number of cases.

Year Crypto Investment Fraud Losses
2021 $907 million
2022 $2.57 billion
2023 $3.94 billion
H1 2024 $1.38 billion

Ransomware & Darknet Statistics

In 2023, ransomware-related crypto transactions hit alarming highs, with losses reaching around $1.1 billion—the highest since 2019.

This marked a staggering 1850.5% increase from 2022’s ransomware market value of $56.7 million. Similarly, darknet activity significantly jumped, with market revenue doubling from $1.5 billion in 2022 to approximately $3 billion in 2023.

The sharp increase in ransomware and darknet activities highlights growing vulnerabilities in the crypto ecosystem, emphasizing the need for enhanced security measures and regulatory oversight.

Biggest Crypto Frauds Of All Time

Ronin Network (Loss – $620 Million) Ronin Network fell prey to a social engineering scam. A senior engineer organization of the organization downloaded a PDF file equipped with spyware. The attackers took control of the network’s 4 private validator keys and stole 173,000 Ethereum, which amounts to $595 million. Also, about $25.5 million was extracted from the organization’s bank account.
Poly Network (Loss – $610 million) Leveraging a loophole on the network, a criminal hacker sept off $610 million in various cryptocurrencies. The company urged the attacker to attacker to give back the funds on Twitter (X), and surprisingly, it worked. The attacker committed the act based on ‘ideological reasons’ and not for money. So, the hacker gave back most of the cryptocurrencies.
Binance (Loss – $570 million) About 2 billion BNB, i,e. almost $570 million was stolen by a group of hackers from Binance’s cross-chain bridge in 2022. Binance’s cross-chain bridge feature is a tech innovation that facilitates the transaction of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets between various blockchain networks.
Coincheck (Loss – $534 million) Hackers stole 500 million NEM tokens from Coincheck. The value of 500 million tokens was worth the same figure, i.e., almost over $500 million. The criminals aimed at the customers’ wallets and exchanged both.
Mt. Gox (Loss – $470 million) In 2014, Mt. Gosx lost almost $470 million in a cyber attack. From the customers’ wallets, the attackers extracted 750,000 bitcoins and about 100,000 from the exchange.

More Crypto Crime Statistics

  1. North Korean hackers are behind most of the crypto thefts. In 2022, criminal hackers from North Korea committed a theft of about $1.7 billion in cryptocurrencies. This made North Korean hackers ( Source – withpersona.com)
  2. In 2022, the number of crypto frauds committed was 199. It was 45% higher than the crimes reported in 2021. (Source – comparitech.com)
  3. The number of crypto thefts reported in 2021 was 136. (Source – comparitech.com)
  4. In the first quarter of 2023, 57 cryptocurrency thefts were reported. (Source – withpersona.com)
  5. The three crypto frauds with the highest losses happened on crypto exchange platforms. (Source – withpersona.com)
  6. In 2021 and 2022, DeFi protocols were found to be the most common target for crypto hackers. (Source – withpersona.com)
  7. In 2023, there was a 399% increase in crypto jacking. (Source – comparitech.com)
  8. The highest jump in crypto-jacking in 2023 was noticed in Europe. The crypto-jacking attempts in Europe increased by 788% in 2023. (Source – Comparitech.com)
  9. Attacks on DeFi protocols accounted for 82.1% of all crypto attacks in 2022. ( Source – comparitech.com)
  10. Approximately 60% of all crypto-related illegal activities are associated with sanctioned groups or terrorist organizations. (Source – cnbc.com)
  11. Crypto fraud was at its highest level ever in October 2022. October 2022 saw almost 30 crypto hack cases and losses of about $775 million. (Source – comparitech.com)
  12. Ten of the big crypto scams of 2022 involved fake investment opportunities. (Source – withpersona.com)
  13. DMM Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Japan, suffered a breach where 4,5000 Bitcoin (BTC) Were stolen. (Source – business2community.com)
  14. One Swedish criminal hacker was the man behind the theft of almost $16 million. He scammed a total of 3,575 people. (Source – comparitech.com)
  15. In 2021, approximately 19% of all illicit Bitcoin was funneled into the top 20 largest money-laundering wallets. (Source – comparitech.com)
  16. The number of crypto thefts reported in 2023 is 286. (Source – business2community.com)
  17. In 2022, the total number of DeFi hacks reported was around 132. (Source – business2community.com)
  18. Over the past thirteen years, from 2011 to 2024, nearly $19 billion worth of cryptocurrency has been stolen. (Source – business2community.com)
  19. Of the $19 billion total, $6 billion stems from system breaches, nearly $5 billion from hacked DeFi protocols, and almost $8 billion from various other types of fraud. (Source – business2community.com)
  20. In 2023, the value received by illicit cryptocurrency addresses dropped significantly to $24.2 billion. (Source – The chainalysis 2024 report)
  21. In 2023, 109 exchange deposit addresses each received over $10 million in illicit cryptocurrency. Collectively, it was $3.4 billion in illicit cryptocurrency. (Source – The chainalysis crypto crim report 2024)
  22. In 2022, 542 deposit addresses received over $1 million each in illicit cryptocurrency, amounting to a total of $6.3 billion. (Source – The chainalysis crypto crim report 2024)
  23. In July 2023, there were 33 incidents of hacking, the highest for any month that year, resulting in a total of $73.5 million stolen. (Source – The chainalysis crypto crim report 2024)
  24. In 2023, North Korea targeted more crypto platforms than ever, yet the total amount stolen was lower than in 2022. The total theft amount was a little over $1 billion. (Source – The chainalysis crypto crim report 2024)
  25. Hackers associated with North Korea illicitly obtained about $428.8 million from DeFi platforms in 2023. (Source – The chainalysis crypto crim report 2024)
  26. In June 2023, a cyberattack targeted thousands of Atomic Wallet users, a non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet service, resulting in an estimated $129 million in losses. (Source – The chainalysis crypto crim report 2024)
  27. The age group most frequently targeted in reports of crypto investment frauds includes individuals aged 30 to 49. (Source – FBI Report)
  28. Approximately 90% of ransomware demands in 2021 were requested in Bitcoin. (Source – wifitalents.com)
  29. In 2022, the Internet Crime Bureau received 2,385 reports of ransomware incidents involving losses totaling over $34.3 million. (Source – FBI Report)
  30. In 2022, an estimated $39.6 billion in illicit transactions occurred. (Source – chainalysis.com)
  31. Hydra closed down in 2022 and was the most dominant darknet market player, accounting for 90% of the darknet market revenue. (Source –chainalysis.com)
  32. The count of crypto investment fraud victims in 2022 was 31,310. (Source – FBI Report)
  33. In 2020, more than $1.6 billion worth of cryptocurrency was lost due to phishing attacks. (Source – wifitalents.com)
  34. In 2020, victims of cryptocurrency crime in North America reported losses exceeding $1 billion. (Source – wifitalents.com)
  35. In 2020, nearly 98% of all crypto thefts targeted online wallets and exchanges. (Source – wifitalents.com)
  36. Approximately 12% of all circulating Bitcoin has been involved in illicit activities. (Source – wifitalents.com)
  37. Darknet crypto crimes surged in 2023. Darknet marketplaces generated revenues totaling at least $1.7 billion in 2023. (Source – cointelegraph.com)
  38. So far, only one-fifth of the lost crypto value has been recovered. (Source – chainplay.gg)
  39. About 8% of Americans have fallen victim to cryptocurrency scams. (Source – wifitalents.com)
  40. Illegal transactions in cryptocurrency have significantly dropped, going from 2.1% in 2019 to just 0.15% in 2021.(Source – wifitalents.com)
  41. June has earned the reputation of being the riskiest month for crypto investments, with 76 incidents and more than $5.7 billion stolen over the past decade. (Source – chainplay.gg)
  42. Most illegal crypto transactions now involve stablecoins. (Source –beincrypto.com)
  43. Sanctions-related transactions made up $14.9 billion, or 61.5%, of all illegal crypto activity in 2023. (Source –beincrypto.com)
  44. In 2023, the share of crypto crimes involving compromised private keys rose significantly, jumping from 22% to 47.8%.(Source –chainalysis.com)
  45. In 2023, hacks targeting smart contracts dropped by 47%, thanks to better security measures. (Source –chainalysis.com)
  46. In 2022, there was a 32% decrease in hacks related to decentralized finance (DeFi). (Source – coindesk.com)
  47. In 2023, incidents like governance attacks and insider breaches typically resulted in an average financial impact of about $1 million each.(Source – chainalysis.com)
  48. Revenue from crypto scams saw a decrease of 29.2% in 2023. (Source –beincrypto.com)
  49. There was a significant 40% rise in phishing attacks aimed at crypto users from 2022 to 2023. (Source – usa.kapersky.com)
  50. In 2019, the FBI received approximately 1,800 reports regarding scams involving cryptocurrencies.(Source – wifitalents.com)