A source-backed encyclopedia documenting cryptocurrency scams and fraud. Browse by category in the sidebar, or search by name, token, wallet address or URL.
Cryptocurrency influencer Luke Belmar (@lukebelmar on X) became the subject of controversy following allegations related to the promotion of a memecoin. Critics on social media alleged that Belmar used a series of posts referencing a forthcoming cryptocurrency project and a large-scale airdrop to generate interest in a token without explicitly identifying a specific contract address. Belmar published multiple posts discussing an upcoming memecoin, describing plans for what he characterized as a major airdrop and making comparisons to other cryptocurrency projects. Because no contract address was publicly provided, several tokens emerged claiming association with his statements. Critics alleged that this ambiguity enabled speculation around multiple tokens while avoiding a direct endorsement of any particular asset.
In June 2026, blockchain investigator reports highlighted a case involving approximately 5.73 BTC (worth roughly $475,000 at the time of freezing) that had been frozen by cryptocurrency exchange Changelly in March 2025. The individual associated with the funds, using the online alias AmanKesar11, reportedly contacted investigators seeking assistance in recovering the frozen assets. During discussions, multiple and conflicting explanations were provided regarding the origin of the funds.
WLFI, a DeFi project linked to Donald Trump and his family, blacklisted/froze the wallet of major investor Justin Sun in Sept 2025 — ~540–595M unlocked WLFI tokens (~$107M) plus ~2.4B locked. Sun sued, alleging an undisclosed admin 'blacklist backdoor'; WLFI denied it and threatened a countersuit. The dispute is ongoing.
A Solana memecoin announced by Melania Trump on Jan 19, 2025. Per FT analysis, ~24 wallets bought in minutes before the public announcement and netted ~$99.6M as retail piled in; the token then fell 95%+. Early buys were traced to wallets linked to $LIBRA figure Hayden Davis. No charges have been filed.
A Solana memecoin launched days before Donald Trump's second inauguration (Jan 2025). Trump-linked entities hold 80% of supply and earned $320M+ in fees while ~760,000 mostly-retail wallets lost money; a 'dinner with the president' promotion for top holders drew conflict-of-interest scrutiny. The 'scam' label is contested and no charges have been filed.
On May 20, 2024 an attacker abused a privileged minter account on the GALA token contract to mint 5 billion GALA (≈$200M+ nominal) and dumped ~600M of them for ~$22M of ETH before Gala froze the address. Gala Games called it an internal access-control failure; the attacker later returned the ~$22M.
Crypto projects (HEX, PulseChain, PulseX) created by Richard Heart (Richard Schueler). In July 2023 the U.S. SEC sued him for offering unregistered securities that raised $1B+ and for allegedly misappropriating ~$12M for luxury goods (including a 555-carat diamond). A court dismissed the case in 2024 for lack of U.S. jurisdiction; there was no finding of wrongdoing and Heart denies the allegations.
A political-corruption scandal in which the Czech Ministry of Justice, under minister Pavel Blažek, accepted a donation of 468 bitcoin (~$45M) in early 2025 from Tomáš Jiříkovský, a convicted darknet/drug figure, then sold part of it. After Deník N revealed the deal in May 2025, Blažek resigned, a criminal money-laundering investigation followed, and the government narrowly survived a no-confidence vote.
A December 2023 software supply-chain attack: a phished former Ledger employee's npm key let attackers publish malicious versions of Ledger's widely used 'Connect Kit' library, injecting the Angel Drainer into many dApps. About $500K–$600K was drained in a few hours before a fix shipped.
A 2018 ICO that billed its B2G token as 'the next generation of Bitcoin.' New Jersey issued a cease-and-desist calling it a fraudulent unregistered securities offering, and the SEC charged actor Steven Seagal for touting it without disclosing he was promised $250K cash plus $750K in tokens.
An NFT collection launched on OpenSea in September 2021 that promised a fighting game. About a week later its anonymous developer 'Evil Ape' vanished with 798 ETH (~$2.7M). In June 2024 U.S. prosecutors charged three U.K. nationals over the scheme.
A knockoff of the Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFTs whose creator, French national Aurelien Michel, raised ~$2.9M then 'rug-pulled' buyers, abandoning promised rewards. He was arrested at JFK in 2023, pleaded guilty to wire-fraud conspiracy, and forfeited $1.4M.
An Avalanche stablecoin protocol exploited for about $8.5M in February 2023 via a flash loan that abused a flawed solvency check. Two brothers were arrested in France (aided by ZachXBT) but were later acquitted of criminal charges by a French court.
Two 2017 ICOs run by Brooklyn's Maksim Zaslavskiy, marketed as tokens backed by real estate and diamonds that did not exist. The case produced the first U.S. criminal conviction for an ICO fraud; Zaslavskiy was sentenced to 18 months in 2019.
A cryptocurrency marketed by Rowland Marcus Andrade's NAC Foundation as 'anti-money-laundering' Bitcoin. A U.S. jury convicted Andrade of wire fraud and money laundering in 2025; the DOJ said he defrauded investors of about $10M with false claims, including a fabricated Panama Canal deal.
A 2017 ICO by Dominic Lacroix that promised returns of more than 1,300% in under a month. It was the first case brought by the SEC's new Cyber Unit; the SEC obtained an emergency freeze and a multimillion-dollar judgment.
An NFT 'play-to-earn' game promoted by Logan Paul in 2021 that never fully launched after raising millions. A Coffeezilla exposé called it a 'rug pull'; Paul apologized and offered refunds. An investor class action against Paul was dismissed; a defamation suit over the 'scam' label was ongoing.
An 8,888-piece NFT collection whose two creators abruptly shut it down within hours of selling out in Jan 2022 and moved ~$1.1M to their own wallets. The U.S. DOJ charged Ethan Nguyen and Andre Llacuna with wire fraud and money laundering.
A token themed on the Netflix series 'Squid Game' that rug-pulled in November 2021. A contract mechanism prevented most buyers from selling; developers cashed out an estimated $3.38M and the token's value fell to near zero.
A ~$16M token offering (SAFTs for 'Bitcoin Latinum' / LTNM) that the SEC charged in 2026 as fraud: founder Donald Basile falsely called LTNM 'the world's first insured digital asset' backed by an 'existing trust,' neither of which existed, and diverted investor funds for personal use (including a $160,000 horse).
A 2017–2018 ICO for 'LOCIcoin' tied to the InnVenn IP-search platform. The SEC charged Loci and CEO John Wise with fraud for raising $7.6M on false claims about revenue, headcount, and user base; Wise also misused investor funds. Settled with a $7.6M penalty and an officer/director bar.
A 2017–2018 ICO (BCT tokens, ~$30M) for a 'Blockchain Terminal' — a Bloomberg-style crypto trading terminal. The SEC and DOJ said convicted ex-hedge-funder Boaz Manor secretly ran it under a fake identity ('Shaun MacDonald'), using associate Edith Pardo as a front, and lied about the product's adoption.
A 2018 ICO for 'Crowd Machine Compute Tokens' (CMCT) that the SEC charged as fraudulent: founder Craig Sproule raised ~$33M to build a decentralized app platform but secretly diverted $5.8M to South African gold-mining entities. Consent judgments ordered ~$20M+ and barred Sproule as an officer/director.
A purported gold/art-backed digital asset that the SEC called a fraud: it falsely claimed backing by $1B in art or $2B in gold and 'risk-free' returns up to 224,923%, raising $4.3M+ from 150+ investors. Defendants were jailed for contempt; founder Robert Dunlap was later convicted of mail fraud.
A Las Vegas company that the SEC said was a $12M+ Ponzi scheme: it told 277+ investors their money would be invested in securities and crypto via an 'artificial intelligence supercomputer' guaranteeing 20–30% annual returns. The SEC halted it in 2021; over 90% of funds came from investors.
An ICO for the DROP token built around a fake 'Dex' trading bot. The SEC said it raised ~$1.9M while claiming $54M from 34,000 investors, and that the founders falsified evidence during the probe. Founders Jeremy McAlpine and Zachary Matar pleaded guilty to securities fraud (36 and 30 months).
A mobile crypto-investing app that the SEC and New York AG said was fraudulent: it sold unregistered 'CSD' tokens, misrepresented its management, charged hidden fees, and traded in customers' accounts without permission. A NY court shut it down in 2021 with a $3M judgment against CEO Delgerdalai Davaasambuu.
A blockchain 'universal shopper profile' startup whose 2017–2018 ICO raised ~$42.5M. The SEC and New York AG said it was fraudulent — fake retailer partnerships, no working product. Founder Eran Eyal pleaded guilty to felony securities fraud (NY) and settled with the SEC.
A 2017–2018 ICO for the VERI token that the SEC said raised ~$14.8M via false statements and that founder Reginald Middleton manipulated on secondary markets. Middleton and Veritaseum settled with the SEC in 2019 for ~$9.5M and a permanent digital-securities bar.
A Miami-based crypto token (CLU) that ran a 2021 ICO and pivoted to NFTs and a metaverse game. Founder Austin Michael Taylor ('DNPthree') secretly siphoned ~$1.14M of investor funds into online casinos; he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and was sentenced in 2025 to 27 months.
