The number of reports to the City regulator of alleged cryptocurrency scams more than doubled last year.
The Financial Conduct Authority received 6,372 alerts about suspected crypto frauds last year, up from 3,143 the year before, according to a response to a Freedom of Information request.
The rise of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, as well as the exchanges on which they can be traded, has attracted interest from ordinary investors hoping to make significant returns. Crypto-related fraud has grown alongside this growing interest. The most notorious example was the £4 billion OneCoin scam, a million-person pyramid scheme masquerading as a cryptocurrency investment. Other issues include the abuse of electronic wallets and crypto exchanges to steal people’s money.
The FCA said that last year an estimated
