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Americans Lost $11 Billion to Crypto Scams Last Year. Most of It Ended at a Gas Station
In 2025, Americans filed 181,565 cryptocurrency complaints and reported $11 billion in losses, with crypto kiosks responsible for $389 million of those losses across 13,460 complaints.
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What happened
In 2025, Americans filed 181,565 cryptocurrency complaints and reported $11 billion in losses, with crypto kiosks responsible for $389 million of those losses across 13,460 complaints.
Confirmed
Global impact / market context
The large loss figures highlight the vulnerability of consumers, especially seniors, to crypto scams, which could prompt policy changes and affect confidence in digital‑asset services.
Confirmed
Crypto‑related fraud now makes up more than half of the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center total losses, showing that digital‑asset scams are a growing share of overall online crime.
Confirmed
What to watch
- Regulators may increase scrutiny of crypto kiosks, potentially leading to tighter licensing rules that could limit cash‑to‑crypto services. Analyst inference
- Financial institutions might strengthen anti‑fraud controls for older customers, which could raise compliance costs for banks partnering with crypto providers. Analyst inference
- Investors could see higher risk premiums on crypto‑related stocks as the market prices in the likelihood of further fraud‑related enforcement actions. Analyst inference