- Losses from crypto crimes have exploded this year.
- Pig butchering and wrench attacks are becoming more prevalent.
- Law enforcement needs to keep pace with crypto crimes, Europol officials say.
The European Union’s police agency, Europol, says crypto crime is “becoming increasingly sophisticated, complex, and organised.”
At the 9th Global Conference on Criminal Finances and Cryptoassets this week, Europol officials said law enforcement is struggling to keep pace with crypto-based crimes used to finance terrorism, drug trafficking, and sanction evasion.
“Investigating these crimes places a significant burden on the law enforcement agencies of EU member states,” Burkhard Mühl, Head of Europol’s European Financial and Economic Crime Centre, said at the conference.
Europol’s warning comes amid a record-breaking year of investor losses from crypto hacks and exploits.
Cybercriminals have stolen more than $2.1 billion this year, with the bulk of those losses coming from the $1.5 billion hack of Bybit, a cryptocurrency exchange, in February.
Apart from Bybit, hackers also hit other exchanges, including BtcTurk and Coinbase.
In June, Europol dismantled a $540 million crypto fraud ring in Spain that had scammed more than 5,000 victims. The alleged suspects used pig butchering, a form of online romance baiting where scammers slowly build trust with victims to trick them into investing in fake cryptocurrency platforms.
Pig butchering scammers stole more than $4 billion from victims in 2024.
But cyber-based attacks aren’t the only rising threats.
Crypto investors have fallen victim to so-called wrench attacks, where criminals use physical violence to steal from victims.
In July, security firm Chainalysis warned that physical attacks against crypto holders were likely to increase this year. That warning has proven true with wrench attacks up more than 54% in 2025 compared to last year.
Gruesome attacks have happened in France, Sweden, and Norway and also outside the eurozone in Brazil, Canada, and Thailand. Some incidents have included kidnappings and torture to force victims to relinquish their valuable crypto assets.
Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. Got a tip? Please contact him at osato@dlnews.com.
