Scams

Elixir has permanently closed its deUSD stablecoin after Stream Finance, which controlled nearly 90% of deUSD's circulating supply, reported a $93 million loss. The stablecoin lost its dollar peg and fell to $0.09. Elixir processed approximately 80% of redemption requests at a 1:1 ratio and warned users not to purchase deUSD.

U.S. District Judge Jessica G.L. Clarke declared a mistrial after jurors failed to reach a verdict on fraud charges against Anton and James Peraire-Bueno, who allegedly exploited Ethereum blockchain vulnerabilities to extract $25 million in a 12-second transaction. Prosecutors accused the MIT-educated brothers of manipulating validator software, while defense attorneys characterized their trading strategy as innovative and legally competitive.

Coinbase Europe Limited has been fined €21.5 million by the Central Bank of Ireland for breaching anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulations between April 2021 and March 2025. The exchange failed to monitor over 30 million transactions worth more than €176 billion, representing approximately 31% of its total activity during a period of technical disruptions. Following a nearly three-year review, Coinbase filed 2,708 suspicious transaction reports with Irish authorities.

A Columbia University study identified wash trading in approximately 25% of Polymarket's transaction volume across three years. The research, published on SSRN, analyzed blockchain data from Polygon and found artificial trading activity peaked at 60% of total volume in December and stood at around 20% in early October. Polymarket is preparing to re-enter the U.S. market through its acquisition of QCX.

Stream Finance's xUSD stablecoin collapsed to zero following a $93 million loss, sparking $1 billion in outflows across DeFi platforms. The incident marks the largest stablecoin withdrawal event since the UST collapse in 2022. Protocols including Coinshift, Elixir, and Euler experienced significant total value locked declines, with Euler recording $137 million in bad debt.

Richard Teng, CEO of Binance, warned on November 7, 2025, of rising phishing scams on WhatsApp, where fraudsters impersonate company representatives to steal credentials and funds. The exchange never contacts users via WhatsApp group chats for investments or payments. Meta removed over 6.8 million scam-linked accounts in the first half of 2025, many connected to Southeast Asian fraud operations.

A Columbia University study found that approximately 25% of Polymarket's trading volume over three years was artificially inflated through wash trading, according to blockchain analysis. Researchers identified that 14% of the platform's 1.26 million wallets exhibited coordinated self-dealing patterns. Artificial volume peaked at 60% in December 2023 before declining to 5% by May, with subsequent increases linked to speculation about a potential token launch.

A Columbia University study has found that wash trading accounted for nearly 25% of all transactions on Polymarket over the past three years. Sports markets showed the highest prevalence at 45% of volume, while crypto markets recorded the lowest at 3%. The decentralized prediction platform achieved $2.59 billion in trading volume in October and secured $205 million in funding across two rounds.

Cryptocurrency transfers from South Korea to Cambodia surged 1,400-fold in 2024, revealing critical weaknesses in the country's anti-money laundering framework, according to regulatory oversight data. Bithumb processed approximately 12.4 billion won ($9 million) in suspicious transactions, while Upbit handled 366 million won ($271,000). The funds were primarily sent in USDT stablecoins to Huione Guarantee, a Cambodian online marketplace sanctioned by the United States and United Kingdom.

USDX, a stablecoin designed to maintain a $1 peg, fell to $0.37 on November 6, marking a 63% decline within hours. On-chain investigators accused founder Flex Yang of draining liquidity from DeFi protocols using USDX as collateral. Lista DAO implemented emergency measures to protect users.