AI-Driven Crypto Crime Skyrockets 40% Amid Deepfake Scam Epidemic
The adoption of artificial intelligence in crypto crime has seen a significant rise over the past year. According to TRM Labs, the use of AI in crypto crime has increased by 40% since last year, driven primarily by scammers.
TRM's 2026 AI-in-Crime Adoption Index places overall AI use across crypto crime at an 'emerging' level of 54 out of 100, up from about 28 in 2024. The firm rated scams as a 'mature' level of AI adoption, while hacking and ransomware remain 'emerging,' and narcotics and darknet markets sit at the earliest 'horizon' stage.
Ari Redbord, TRM's global head of policy, noted that AI has not invented new crimes but rather removed constraints on old ones. He added that the skill floor has collapsed, the scale ceiling lifted, and fake identity has gone industrial, what used to take a team of operators now takes one person with a subscription.
The share of crypto scam reports involving AI, such as deepfakes or chatbots, has risen as much as 13 times since 2022. Losses from deepfake scams in 2026 have already surpassed the full-year 2025 total by 263%.