$17 Billion Stolen in One Year: The State of Crypto Crime with Chainalysis

Crypto scams and how to protect yourself with Chainalysis' Eric Jardine.

Eric Jardine, Head of Research at Chainalysis, joins Gen C to break down their latest crypto crime report and the staggering numbers of nearly $17 billion stolen in scams in 2025 alone. Eric explains how AI has changed the scam equation by allowing bad actors to hit massive scale without sacrificing quality, why the people executing scams in Southeast Asian compounds are often trafficking victims themselves, and why crypto's measurability is actually an argument in its favor and not against it.

Links mentioned from the podcast: Chainalysis Website: https://www.chainalysis.com/ Crypto Crime Report: https://www.chainalysis.com/reports/crypto-crime-2026/

Timecodes: 0:00 Intro 0:40 Sam's intro: crypto crime by the numbers 1:44 Welcome Eric Jardine, Chainalysis 2:34 $17B+ stolen in crypto scams (2025) 2:55 Why are scams growing? Bull markets & victim pools 4:19 Impersonation scams up 1400% YoY 5:10 How impersonation scams work (IRS, Coinbase, deepfakes) 6:53 E-ZPass smishing — crypto settlement demands 8:24 Scam-as-a-service: $500 spoofed government websites 10:24 AI as a productivity boost for criminals 11:58 DPRK (Lazarus Group) vs. Southeast Asia scam compounds 13:57 Human trafficking & forced labor in scam operations 17:37 How to protect yourself 20:09 Jurisdictional challenges & enforcement gaps 21:45 Silk Road anniversary & crypto's illicit narrative 23:04 Is crypto actually worse than cash for crime? 25:13 Enforcement wins: 61K BTC recovered, $15B forfeiture 26:13 Closing Remarks

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"Gen C" features host Sam Ewen. Executive produced by Uyen Truong.