2019 was a phenomenal year for cryptocurrency (scams)

Bust out the champagne, folks! It’s time to celebrate. 

2019 was one hell of a year for cryptocurrency. Or, more specifically, cryptocurrency scams. That’s according to Chainalysis, a respected blockchain analysis company that works with law enforcement and the Department of Justice to monitor and track cryptocurrency transactions tied to criminal activity. 

Its 2020 State of Crypto Crime report, released today, goes into great detail on the types and scale of scams infecting the broader digital currency space. And, shocker, it’s a lot. Specifically, 2019 was a banner year for those looking to commit some crime with the help of their old pseudonymous friend Bitcoin.

“2019 was the biggest year for cryptocurrency scams yet,” reads the report. “After [a] drop in scam revenue in 2018, scammers more than tripled their revenue in 2019, bringing in $4.30 billion worth of cryptocurrency from mil