Cybersecurity practitioners warn of a crypto crime “supercycle” driven by slow regulations, FOMO, and growing adoption. Losses in the first half of 2025 have exceeded all of 2024. Average loss per security incident in 2025 is $4.3 million. Law enforcement faces challenges like limited resources and technical sophistication of cybercriminals.

Blockchain security firm CertiK reports an average loss of $4.3 million per security incident in 2025. Senior investigator, Natalie Newson, notes a rise in bad actors due to influencers launching tokens with questionable intent. Market surveillance firm Solidus Labs found 98.7% of tokens on Pump.fun exhibit pump-and-dump characteristics.

Regulators are criticized for swinging from overreach to underreaction in enforcing crypto regulations. CEO of Kronos Research, Hank Huang, believes smart, targeted regulation is needed to combat the crypto crime “supercycle.” Law enforcement worldwide is stepping up efforts to drive bad actors out of the crypto space.

Despite increasing crackdowns, losses from crypto crime may never hit zero due to the nature of decentralized markets with anonymous participants. Focus should be on minimizing risks for users rather than trying to eliminate losses. Crypto’s speed and global access make it vulnerable to attacks testing the limits of emerging systems.

Read more at Cointelegraph: Rising Crypto Crime Driven by Lack of Oversight and Retail FOMO