Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal joins Mornings and Maria to discuss the race in Washington to finalize the Clarity Act, increasing pushback from big banks and how upcoming crypto laws could improve investing for Americans.
The FBI recently released its annual report on cybercrime and found that crypto currency-related scams accounted for the most reported losses across all fraud categories last year.
The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 1,008,597 complaints in 2025, up from 859,532 in 2024, and the loss of Americans was reported to be close to $21 billion last year.
Crypto Scams accounted for more than half of the $20.877 billion in losses reported by IC3, with $11.366 billion in losses attributed to cryptocurrency. Additionally, there were 181,565 complaints classified as cryptocurrency-related out of the approximately 1 million complaints received last year.
The annual report showed that crypto investment fraud was the highest source of financial loss for Americans in 2025, with $7.2 billion in reported losses.
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Crypto scams accounted for more than half of Americans' losses last year, a report says. (Getty Images)
Crypto investment scams they often start through social media, text messages, ads or dating sites, with scammers introducing victims to investment groups posing as knowledgeable industry insiders.
The victims are then lured into being send cryptocurrency on investment scam platforms or apps and are shown fake profits or loans offered to encourage large investments. If they try to withdraw their money, they will be charged taxes and fees as scammers make one last attempt to exploit them before disappearing with the victims' funds. Victims may also be targeted by recovery scams that claim to help them recover lost funds.
“These scams tend to be very damaging because they can leave victims with a lot of losses and emotional distress,” the report explains.
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The FBI is cracking down on crypto scams. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In early 2024, the The FBI launched Operation Level Up to identify and inform victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud. The program has notified more than 8,000 victims since its inception and reduced losses by more than $500 million, according to the report.
In 2025, it reported 3,780 victims of crypto investment fraud and 78% of those victims did not know they were being scammed. Estimated savings for victims totaled more than $225 million, and 38 victims of the scams were referred to a victim specialist for suicide intervention who maintained contact with them until further notice. law enforcement officers he arrived.
Some examples of prevented losses include stopping the victim from withdrawing $750,000 from their 401(k) retirement plan, preventing the victim from selling their house to invest $500,000, and preventing the victim from getting a loan to send $400,000 to the fraudster.
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Crypto investment scams can take different forms. (Stock)
The report added that there were many cases where the FBI intervened with the Financial Fraud Kill Chain (FFKC) to reverse it. transmission by telephone and return the money to the victims.
The increase in losses related to crypto investment scams led to the creation of the US Attorney's Office District of Columbia Scam Center Strike Force, which combined the resources of the US Attorney's Office with the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Secret Service to track down and disrupt such scams.
The Scam Center Strike Force investigates scam compounds located in Southeast Asia, identifying and tracking key leaders, incl. Organized crime in China partner organizations working in Cambodia, Laos and Burma to bring justice.
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It also works to seize and disable US-based institutions and infrastructure that provide the means and means to carry out such scams, including Internet service providers and social media accounts, to prevent them from weaponizing the American people.
