Wrong time to let up on crypto crime

The Securities and Exchange Commission is scaling back its cryptocurrency enforcement unit. Why does this matter? Because crime pervades the crypto industry.

Just last month, a hacker stole about $1.5 billion from the crypto exchange Bybit in the biggest theft the industry has ever experienced. As this incident suggests, crypto crime seems to be getting worse, not better. Indeed, crypto crime likely broke records last year. Illicit crypto addresses received an estimated total of $40 billion to as much as $75 billion in 2024.

Cryptocurrency is being used to perpetrate crimes that affect all Americans. One of the best examples is ransomware, malicious software that prevents users from accessing their computer files, systems or networks unless they pay a ransom. Crypto is the dominant form of payment demanded in these attacks because it enables cybercriminals to receive money anonymously and quickly transfer their illicit gains overseas.

Ransomware attacks reached an all-time high in 2024, targeting sectors that Americans rely on every day. In February 2024, for example, the insurer UnitedHealth Group experienced an attack that affected hospitals, doctors' offices, pharmacies and millions of patients across the nation. UnitedHealth paid a ransom of about $22 million in bitcoin.

Like ransomware attacks, meme coin "rug pulls" can have many victims. A meme coin is a cryptocurrency that is inspired by a celebrity, meme or internet trend. They're highly volatile, speculative assets that are susceptible to fraud. In a rug pull, insiders buy up a large share of meme coin tokens in advance and then dump them after the price soars, leaving regular investors with tokens that are essentially worthless.

One recent example is the case of Haliey Welch, who gained internet fame as the "Hawk Tuah Girl" when she was featured in a TikTok video that went viral. In December, after parlaying her newfound celebrity into a merchandise line and podcast, she launched a meme coin. The coin's price initially surged, but its value quickly plummeted by more than 90% after a small group of owners sold off more than 80% of the token's supply. One investor wrote on social media, "I am a huge fan of Hawk Tuah but you took my life savings."

While rug pulls dupe multiple investors at a time, many crypto crimes target individual victims. One particularly devastating crypto fraud is known as "pig butchering" or "romance baiting." These scams involve online criminals luring their victims into fake romances and then stealing their money by inducing them to invest in cryptocurrency.

Many people lose their life savings to these scams. One California victim, Shai Plonski, said he thought he had found the "perfect woman" on Facebook. Plonski and "Sandy" traded messages about their supposedly shared interests in yoga and poetry until Plonski revealed that his business was struggling, at which point Sandy suggested he invest in crypto with her guidance. Plonski eventually put his life savings into what he thought was a cryptocurrency investment and, when he became concerned, found he couldn't withdraw his funds. He was one of more than 40,000 victims of these scams in the United States.

Another scam on the rise involves bitcoin ATMs. A scammer persuades a victim to deposit cash into a bitcoin ATM by using a QR code. The ATM then converts the cash to bitcoin that is immediately transferred to the scammer's digital wallet.

Seniors are particularly susceptible to bitcoin ATM scams. Beaufort County, S.C., which has a large senior population, reported $3.1 million in losses to crypto scams last year, including several involving bitcoin ATMs. One retired healthcare worker got a call purportedly from the sheriff's office, informing her that she had missed her jury duty and must post a $7,500 bond to remain free until her court date. She deposited the cash into a bitcoin ATM and lost the money.

These are just a few of the ways in which criminals use crypto to harm ordinary Americans. Unfortunately, there are many others, some of which are used to finance terrorism. This is why we should be strengthening our efforts to prevent crypto crime, not weakening them.

The SEC's new leaders say they don't want crypto to "be a haven for fraudsters." Unfortunately, it already is. It's up to them and other regulators to protect the American people from the crime that pervades this industry.

Benjamin Schiffrin is the director of securities policy for Better Markets.