Kevin Helms
A student of Austrian economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects and the intersection of finance and cryptography.
Crypto Scam Revenue Drops 46% in 2022 – Featured Bitcoin News
Cryptocurrency fraud revenue fell 46% in 2022, according to blockchain data analysis firm Chainalysis. “We attribute most of this decline to market conditions, as fraud performance tends to worsen when cryptocurrency prices are in decline,” the firm explained.
“Crypto Scam Revenue Drops Significantly in 2022”
Blockchain data analysis firm Chainalysis published its 2023 Crypto Crime Report last week with a section on crypto fraud. “Revenues from crypto fraud fell by 46% in 2022,” the 109-page report says, elaborating:
Revenue from crypto fraud fell significantly in 2022, from $10.9 billion the previous year to just $5.9 billion.
Chainalysis tracks several types of crypto scams, including giveaway scams, impersonation scams, investment scams, non-fungible token (NFT) scams, and romance scams.
Noting that the numbers are “a lower estimate,” the blockchain analytics firm explained that “estimates of the real amount lost to fraudsters will grow as we identify more addresses linked to fraud.” The firm specifically mentioned scams that have become frighteningly popular. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned about this type of crypto scam many times. Last November, US authorities seized seven domains used by fraudsters.
Regarding the decline in crypto-fraud revenue, Chainalysis described:
We attribute most of this decline to market conditions, as fraud performance tends to worsen when cryptocurrency prices decline.
“Cryptocurrency fraud revenue began the year trending upwards, but fell in early May – coinciding with the start of the bear market following the collapse of Terra Luna – and then fell steadily throughout the rest of the year,” Chainalysis described.
While noting that “some types of fraud see revenue changes increase when cryptoasset prices decline,” the blockchain analytics firm pointed out, “Fraud revenue throughout the year tracks almost perfectly with bitcoin’s price, consistently maintaining a three-week lag between price movements and changes in revenue.”
What do you think about cryptocurrency fraud revenue falling 46% last year? Let us know in the comments section below.
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