Rising Crypto Crime Driven by Lack of Oversight and Retail FOMO – Crypto News

Slow regulations, fear of missing out (FOMO) and growing adoption are powering a crypto crime “supercycle,” according to cybersecurity practitioners. 

Crypto crime losses hit a new record in the first half of 2025, beating the previous record set in 2022 and nearly equal to the total losses from all of 2024.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Bill Callahan, a retired DEA agent and cryptocurrency investigator, said a lack of regulation combined with hype and FOMO has been playing into criminals’ hands, though he said he wouldn’t necessarily call it a crime supercycle.

“The rapid proliferation of new crypto assets, particularly memecoins, combined with a surge in retail investors and limited regulatory oversight, creates opportunities for criminal activity, including theft, bogus investment schemes, scams and frauds.” 

Risk vs reward ratio favors crypto criminals

Callahan said crypto scams likely appeal to bad actors given the offer of anonymity and ease of setting up scams. 

“We must remember, the bad guys have time, money and resources on their side to perfect criminal activity, and they don’t need to get it right all the time to still make a handsome profit.” 

Blockchain security firm CertiK said in its H1 Hack3d report released on July 1 that the average loss per security incident in 2025 has been $4.3 million, with the median loss being $103,996.