AI-Driven Crypto Crime Surges as Deepfakes Fuel 263% Loss Spike
The adoption of AI in crypto crime has seen a significant surge, according to a new report from TRM Labs. The firm's 2026 AI-in-Crime Adoption Index found that overall AI use across crypto crime has reached an 'emerging' level of 54 out of 100, up from about 28 in 2024.
The increase is largely driven by scammers, with the share of crypto scam reports involving AI, such as deepfakes or AI chatbots, rising as much as 13 times since 2022. Reported losses from deepfake scams in 2026 to date have already surpassed the full-year total for 2025 by 263%.
North Korean cyber actors are also using AI to target firms and protocols, with TRM noting that digital asset hacks reached a record 201 in the first half of 2026, more than double the 2025 figure. Around 75% of losses stemmed from just 4% of incidents, where most of them were infrastructure compromises involving private-key or credential theft.
AI-assisted ransomware operations are also becoming increasingly common, with no-code ransomware kits being sold for $400 to $1,200. The first fully agentic ransomware attack used for an extortion operation was recently disclosed, with the AI agent handling reconnaissance, credential theft, lateral movement, privilege escalation, and encryption end-to-end.