Cryptocurrency-based scammers and cyber criminals netted a whopping $7.7 billion worth of cryptocurrency from victims in 2021, marking an 81% rise in losses compared to 2020, according to blockchain analysis firm, Chainalysis.
Some $1.1 billion of the $7.7 billion in losses were attributed to a single scheme which allegedly targeted Russia and Ukraine, it said.
As the largest form of cryptocurrency-based crime and one uniquely targeted toward new users, scamming poses one of the biggest threats to cryptocurrency’s continued adoption, said Chainalysis.