Share this article
Consumers Lost Over $1B to Crypto Fraud Since January 2021, FTC Says
Crypto is quickly becoming the "payment of choice for many scammers," says the agency.
Updated May 11, 2023, 6:49 p.m. Published Jun 3, 2022, 3:44 p.m.
Consumers reported they have lost over $1 billion in crypto-linked fraud from January 2021 through March of this year, according to an analysis from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
- The median amount lost was $2,600, said the U.S. regulator, citing 46,000 people who have reported being defrauded. The top three cryptocurrencies consumers said they used to pay “scammers” were bitcoin (BTC) at 70%, tether (USDT) at 10% and ether (ETH) at 9%.
- “Cryptocurrency is quickly becoming the payment of choice for many scammers," said the FTC, noting about one in every four dollars lost to fraud involves crypto.
- The majority of the scams involve bogus investment schemes, with romance scams and business/government impersonation frauds rounding out the top three.
- Those aged 20-49 were more than three times as likely to report losing money in a fraud as those in older age groups.
Read more: International Tax Consortium Lists ‘Red Flag Indicators’ of Fraud in NFT Marketplaces
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
French Banking Giant BPCE to Roll Out Crypto Trading for 2M Retail Clients
The service will allow customers to buy and sell BTC, ETH, SOL, and USDC through a separate digital asset account managed by Hexarq.
What to know:
- French banking group BPCE will start offering crypto trading services to 2 million retail customers through its Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Épargne apps, with plans to expand to 12 million customers by 2026.
- The service will allow customers to buy and sell BTC, ETH, SOL, and USDC through a separate digital asset account managed by Hexarq, with a €2.99 monthly fee and 1.5% transaction commission.
- The move follows similar initiatives by other European banks, such as BBVA, Santander, and Raiffeisen Bank, which have already started offering crypto trading services to their customers.
Top Stories
