After a banner year for people being fleeced out of their cryptocurrency, 2026 started with major news of new hacks, scams, and rug pulls. 2025 was a banner year for cryptocurrencies on many fronts. Global regulation eased. Stablecoins powered $46 trillion in annual transactions. And major shifts in U.S. government policy spurred wider adoption. But with that expansion came a notable bump in crypto fraud.