Crypto Crime Trends Shift Fast in the 2025 Bitrace Report

• Crypto crime activity on TRON and Ethereum remains high, with scammers shifting tactics to target new investors.
• Stablecoins are increasingly used in crypto crime, especially in phishing and online fraud schemes across major blockchain networks.

If you think the crypto space is getting safer in 2025, you might want to read the latest report from Bitrace. Amid the rapid adoption of digital assets, the Crypto Crime Report 2025 shows a dark side that has not yet subsided. Bitrace notes that in 2024, more than $649 billion in stablecoins like USDT and USDC flowed into blockchain addresses categorized as high-risk.

Source: Bitrace

But wait—despite the large numbers, the proportion of illegal activity actually dropped to 5.14% from 5.94% the previous year. This means that legitimate stablecoin usage is indeed growing faster. Still, anyone who thinks this is a good sign needs to be careful.

The Unseen Side of Crypto Crime on TRON and Ethereum

What makes it curious is why networks like TRON and Ethereum are the favorites of criminals? TRON even accounts for more than 75% of risky transactions. Ethereum follows closely behind, and its share is also slowly increasing.

Source: Bitrace

Is it because of convenience, anonymity, or because many new users are still in the dark? On the other hand, CNF also previously reported that the threat of social media and digital asset-based fraud is increasingly becoming a serious threat, especially for new investors who do not yet have a sharp enough radar.

Furthermore, the flow of stablecoins to fraudulent addresses has increased drastically. The figure reached $52.5 billion, exceeding the previous three years combined. And it’s not just about fake investment schemes or promises of getting rich overnight—romance scams, customer service impersonations, and sophisticated phishing scenarios are also on the list.

One of them even dragged a teenager named Veer Chetal, who was only 19 years old. He was arrested in Virginia for allegedly stealing more than 4,000 BTC through phishing claiming to be from Google and Gemini. Crazy, right?

Not only that, the actions of hackers are also getting more vicious. Data from Immunefi in April 2025 showed that a total of $92 million was stolen from 15 DeFi hacking incidents—more than double the previous month which was “only” $41 million. If you think DeFi is the land of the future, yes it is, but it is certainly not without risk.

Meanwhile, stablecoin issuers like Tether and Circle are not sitting idle. They have frozen more than $1.3 billion in assets in Ethereum and TRON throughout 2024. That’s double the amount from the previous three years. It’s safe to say that they are starting to seriously strengthen cooperation with law enforcement. But the question is, is it fast enough?

Fraud, Criminal Schemes, and Regulatory Response

Just imagine if the money you keep in your digital wallet could disappear in a matter of minutes, just because you clicked on a fake link. That’s the reality for many victims who are not ready to face increasingly sophisticated deception.

In New York state, legislators are also working on bill A06515 to tighten sanctions on crypto fraudsters, including private key thieves and those who hide their interests in transactions.

As a reminder of the scale of the losses, we can also look at an old case that is still hot: Alexander Mashinsky. The former CEO of Celsius Network is facing a 20-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to token manipulation and misleading statements. The total losses incurred? More than $20 billion. The sentencing hearing is set for May 8, 2025, in Manhattan federal court.

There’s no denying that the data from Bitrace and other reports paint a clear picture—crypto is no longer just a field for speculation. It’s now a battleground between innovation and increasingly clever digital crime.