Scammers stole an estimated $17 billion worth of cryptocurrency in 2025, according to a new report from Chainalysis.  Notably, the report found that AI-assisted scams stole 4.5 times more money than scams that didn’t leverage AI.

“Our analysis reveals that, on average, scams with on-chain links to AI vendors extract $3.2 million per operation compared to $719,000 for those without an on-chain link — 4.5 times more revenue per scam,” the researchers write.

“These AI-related operations also demonstrate significantly greater time-weighed efficiency….These metrics suggest both higher operational efficiency and potentially broader victim reach. The increased transaction volume indicates that AI is enabling scammers to reach and…