Crypto Crime News

Chris Larsen, the co-founder of Ripple, suffered a significant financial blow in 2024 when he lost over $661 million worth of XRP due to a security breach in the password management system LastPass.

Venture capitalist and Mission Gate founder George Bachiashvili is now facing imprisonment in Georgia after a court revoked his bail.

Hackers have exploited a vulnerability in DeFi aggregator 1inch’s resolver smart contract, leading to losses of over $5 million, according to blockchain security firm SlowMist.

Tether has taken a significant step by freezing $27 million worth of USDt on the Russian crypto exchange Garantex, which has led to the platform halting its operations.

Hackers who breached Bybit stole $1.4 billion, but CEO Ben Zhou confirmed that $1.07 billion of the stolen funds remains traceable.

Suji Yan, founder of the Web3 browser extension Mask, has suffered a major security breach, losing $4 million in cryptocurrencies.

Binance has issued a strong warning to cryptocurrency users, highlighting the growing threat of phishing scams and fraudulent schemes aimed at stealing digital assets.

Aleksei Andriunin, the founder of the cryptocurrency firm Gotbit, was recently transferred to the U.S. from Portugal after being arrested in October 2024.

Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting GitHub users by creating deceptive repositories to spread malware, particularly designed to steal sensitive information like cryptocurrency details and personal credentials. A

Infini, a stablecoin payment firm, lost $50 million in what appears to be an inside job.

A major breach rocked the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit on Friday when Lazarus, North Korea’s notorious hacking group, stole over $1.5 billion in Ethereum and derivative tokens.

North Korea’s Lazarus Group has been identified as the mastermind behind a massive $1.4 billion Ethereum heist targeting cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, according to blockchain investigator ZachXBT.

Bybit, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges, has reportedly suffered a major security breach, with over $1.4 billion worth of digital assets drained from the platform.

Scammers recently attempted to deceive investors by launching a fake meme coin linked to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Concerns over LIBRA’s legitimacy have intensified after blockchain analysts linked the token to other controversial crypto projects, including the MELANIA meme coin.

A man is under arrest after staging a dramatic publicity stunt atop the famous Hollywood sign, where he waved a flag promoting Vigilante Token (VIGI).

Indian authorities have taken action against one of the largest cryptocurrency fraud cases, confiscating nearly $190 million in digital assets linked to Bitconnect.

Dan Morehead, founder and managing partner of Pantera Capital, is under investigation for possible violations of U.S. tax laws after relocating to Puerto Rico, a territory known for its tax advantages.

The FBI is ramping up efforts to combat a rising cryptocurrency scam known as “pig butchering,” where fraudsters build trust with victims before tricking them into fake investments.

A chilling kidnapping case has emerged in Chicago, where six men allegedly took a family and their nanny hostage, demanding a staggering $15 million in cryptocurrency as ransom.

A Turkish court has sentenced Mehmet Aydin, the creator of the fraudulent mobile game Çiftlik Bank, to over 45,000 years in prison after orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme.

A man from Alabama has admitted to hacking the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) X account in a scheme that led to a false Bitcoin ETF approval announcement.

A former senior official in Beijing’s financial sector has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after being found guilty of corruption and laundering money through Bitcoin transactions.

Braden John Karony, ex-CEO of SafeMoon, has filed a request to delay his upcoming trial, hoping that shifting U.S. regulations under the Trump administration might help dismiss some of the charges against him.

Kanye West recently revealed that he was offered $2 million to endorse a fraudulent meme coin using his name.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria has dismantled a major cryptocurrency fraud ring, arresting a large number of suspects involved in illicit activities.

After several months of imprisonment, Alexey Pertsev, a key developer behind Tornado Cash, is poised for release from custody on February 7, 2025.

Ransomware payments within the cryptocurrency world have seen a sharp decline in 2024, dropping 35% to $813 million from the previous year’s $1.25 billion.

A 22-year-old Canadian hacker, Andean Medjedovic, is currently on the run after allegedly exploiting a flaw in KyberSwap, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, to steal $48.8 million in cryptocurrency, according to a recent indictment.

Meme coins continue to attract speculators, but their explosive popularity has also fueled a wave of scams.

Fraudsters often initiate contact with casual messages, hoping to lure unsuspecting victims into financial traps involving digital assets.

The UFC’s official Instagram was hijacked last night, with cybercriminals using the account to advertise a fraudulent memecoin.

As artificial intelligence becomes more sophisticated, cybercriminals are looking for ways to manipulate it for their own purposes.

Pump.fun, a Solana-based memecoin platform, is facing a class-action lawsuit accusing it of issuing unregistered securities and generating nearly $500 million in fees.

Crypto theft totaled $73 million in January 2025, a 44% drop compared to $133 million in January 2024, according to Immunefi.

Justin Sun, the founder of TRON and an advisor to HTX Global, has announced that TRON DAO successfully blocked over $26 million in questionable transactions by working closely with law enforcement agencies.

The release of Faruk Fatih Özer, the founder of defunct crypto exchange Thodex, has ignited public outrage, despite his alleged role in a major fraud case involving 94 million lira in losses.

With market optimism fueling increased activity, Binance CEO Richard Teng is warning investors to stay alert against Ponzi schemes and fraudulent crypto projects.

A recent investigation has revealed that $29 million worth of Sui (SUI) was stolen from a single victim in December.

French authorities have intensified their scrutiny of Binance, launching a judicial investigation into allegations of financial misconduct.

The soaring popularity of Donald and Melania Trump-themed meme coins has created fertile ground for scammers to exploit unsuspecting investors.

Indian crypto exchange WazirX has secured approval from the Singapore High Court to move forward with its restructuring plan, aimed at compensating users affected by a $235 million cyberattack in July 2024.

In a concerning escalation of cyberattacks, hackers recently compromised the official Nasdaq X account to promote a fraudulent memecoin called STONKS.

A cryptocurrency entrepreneur known as “The Godfather” and an LA County sheriff’s deputy are facing federal charges, including tax evasion and conspiracy.

The official X account of the Cuban government was reportedly involved in an apparent rug-pull scheme linked to a Cuba-themed memecoin, sparking speculation that the country was trying to capitalize on the growing memecoin craze following Donald Trump’s recent launch.

An Indian national, Anurag Pramod Murarka, has been sentenced to over 10 years in a U.S. federal prison for orchestrating a global money-laundering network that leveraged cryptocurrency to hide illicit funds.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against Nova Labs, accusing the creators of the Helium Network of misleading investors and violating securities laws.

Months after a $230 million security breach, Indian crypto exchange WazirX has taken a major step forward by freezing $3 million in stolen USDT.

In South Korea, authorities have arrested a woman suspected of stealing 700 million won ($480,000) in cryptocurrency from a friend to resolve her financial troubles.

A Russian diamond mining employee has been sentenced to seven years in a maximum-security prison for allegedly providing financial support to Ukraine’s Armed Forces through cryptocurrency transactions.

Crypto investors are increasingly being targeted by malware attacks on Telegram, according to blockchain security firm Scam Sniffer.

A federal court has ordered the return of 94,643 Bitcoin, seized after the 2016 Bitfinex hack, back to the exchange.

Stablecoins, once seen as a reliable asset in the crypto market, have become the most-used currency for illicit activities, accounting for 63% of all criminal transactions in 2024, according to Chainalysis’ 2025 Crypto Crime Report.

A pastor from Washington state, Francier Obando Pinillo, has been indicted for allegedly defrauding over 1,500 people through a cryptocurrency scheme called Solano Fi.

A cryptocurrency firm co-founder has admitted to defrauding thousands of investors through false claims of high returns, raising over $9 million before his scheme unraveled.

On January 11, Litecoin’s official social media account fell victim to a brief hacking incident, during which a scammer attempted to promote a fake Litecoin token on the Solana network.

In a significant crackdown, Thai authorities have confiscated nearly 1,000 Bitcoin mining devices from a company accused of illegally tapping into the local power grid.

A young male citizen of the Netherlands has been arrested after allegedly defrauding over 300 people out of millions of euros.

OKX, a popular cryptocurrency exchange, has issued a warning regarding fraudulent browser extensions that have appeared in the Firefox plugin store.

Recently, a Pakistani cryptocurrency trader, was kidnapped by a group involving law enforcement officers and held for ransom.