A New Study reveals Crypto Scams increased by 40 percent in 2020, with a 75 percent jump forecast for 2021

By: Henry Felix

A New Study reveals Crypto Scams increased by 40 percent in 2020, with a 75 percent jump forecast for 2021

March 27, 2021 4:46 PM

 

It has been revealed that crypto-related scams are on the rise with numbers almost double over 2020. It was also forecasted that the number of Scam cases related to crypto will jump 75% in 2021.

 

According to the latest report on cryptocurrency scams that was published by Bolster, the research scanned over 300 million websites which revealed the main reason for the increasing number of scams.  Crypto popularity and the pandemic see two factors that boosted the figures last year.

 

The research analyzed over 300 million websites and discovered over 400,000 are scams related to crypto that was created last year alone. This represents the 40% rise when compared to numbers seen in 2019.

 

Bolster stated that with Bitcoin going mainstream crypto-related scams could increase by 75% next year judging by the current number.

 

Speaking with News. Bitcoin, CTO, and co-founder of Bolster said:

"The rise of scams in the crypto industry weakens the goal of solidifying its credibility as an asset class, it will have to be sorted out as these assets go mainstream and less experienced people starts trading them. Bold removal of scams will create an opening for the currency to distinguish itself rapidly building trust with the market in the process."

 

Chainlink (Link) Among the Mostly Used Crypto for Scams Last Year

The recent crypto scam activities have mostly been linked to fake giveaways, crypto celebrity impersonations, or sweepstakes. John McAfee and Tesla founder Elon Musk we're the top two celebrities impersonated last year for fake giveaways.

 

Among the top three cryptocurrencies used for scams were ethereum (ETH), bitcoin (BTC), and chainlink (LINK). the top three exchanges impersonated are Coinbase, Binance, and Gemini.

 

The research also found some correlations between cryptocurrency value, fraud, and hype. Across all the major crypto monitored in the research, they identified a direct correlation between increase is their trade volumes, value and scam related activities.