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Ethereum’s network is showing a sharp rise in new wallet activity, based on fresh data from Santiment. The number of new Ethereum addresses created each week is now between 800,000 and 1 million. That’s a significant jump from last summer when the network added only 560,000 to 670,000 wallets per week. Ethereum Wallet Creation Surges
The post Ethereum Records Massive Growth As New ETH Addresses Skyrocket Since May appeared first on CoinGape.
Bitget exchange, in collaboration with blockchain security firms SlowMist and Elliptic, has exposed the terrifying anatomy of the most advanced crypto scams in recent times.
These findings come amid rising security incidents, ranging from high-profile attacks to government involvement in crypto laundering attacks.
The report cites AI deepfakes, weaponized psychology, and social engineering. It lays bare how bad actors use synthetic videos, virtual identities, and fake crypto meetings to deceive users and dismantle trust in the Web3 ecosystem.
A key finding in the report is that in 2025, scams will go beyond stealing user keys to hijack victims’ realities. From celebrity deepfakes to Trojan job offers and fake Zoom meetings, the latest scams blend high-tech deception with low-tech manipulation.
Bitget’s report categorizes the most dangerous threats under three pillars: deepfake impersonation, social engineering scams, and advanced Ponzi schemes. The most insidious are deepfakes.
In early 2025, Hong Kong police arrested 31 individuals in a deepfake scam syndicate. Perpetrators stole $34 million by impersonating crypto executives during fake investment calls. This was just one of 87 similar operations dismantled across Asia in Q1 alone.
“…attackers using AI synthesis tools to fabricate audio and video likenesses of well-known project founders, exchange executives, or community KOLs in order to mislead users. These fabricated materials are often highly realistic,” read an excerpt in the report shared with BeInCrypto.
With tools like Synthesia, ElevenLabs, and HeyGen, attackers fabricate dynamic likenesses of public figures. Named victims include Elon Musk and Singapore’s Prime Minister. Bad actors create convincing videos to promote fraudulent platforms.
These videos are often distributed on social channels like Telegram, X (Twitter), and YouTube Shorts. Based on the report, they turn off comments to maintain a façade of legitimacy.
One case involved deepfake clips of Singapore Minister Lee Hsien Loong endorsing a “government-backed crypto initiative.” The campaign reportedly ensnared thousands before it was flagged.
Another disturbing tactic involves impersonating Zoom. Victims receive fake meeting invites from “crypto executives,” prompting them to download Trojan-laced software.
During the meeting, scammers use deepfake avatars and fabricated credentials to trick users into sharing wallet access or approving malicious transactions.
“The people luring you to download fake Zoom for meetings are extremely persuasive, making you feel it’s unlikely to be fake. A key point is that the participants you see during the meeting are actually displayed using deepfake videos… Don’t doubt it, in the AI era, video and voice forgery can be extremely realistic…,” SlowMist founder Cos shared on X.
Once inside the system, attackers can access browser data, cloud storage, or private keys, exposing users to total account compromise. These multi-layered attacks represent a new “identity hijack” category combining technical infiltration and social trust manipulation.
Bitget’s report stresses that modern scams rely as much on psychology as code. One notable trend is the rise of “AI arbitrage bot” scams, where scammers promise effortless gains using ChatGPT-branded smart contracts.
Bad actors trick users into deploying malicious code via fake Remix IDE pages, and their funds are instantly rerouted to scammer wallets.
What’s worse? These schemes are often small-scale, targeting victims for $50–$200 at a time. While the losses are minor enough to deter pursuit, they are frequent enough to generate large cumulative profits for attackers.
Beyond AI-generated scams, Bitget also warns that traditional Ponzi and pyramid schemes have not disappeared, but have mutated. Specifically, these scams have undergone a “digital evolution,” leveraging on-chain tools, rapid viral marketing, and the illusion of legitimacy through smart contracts.
Instead of opaque offshore bank accounts, modern-day fraudsters attract victims through Telegram groups, Twitter hype, and tokens with built-in referral mechanics.
Smart contracts give these scams a thin veneer of decentralization and transparency. Meanwhile, carefully obfuscated tokenomics mimic legitimate yield structures until the inevitable collapse.
A potent mix of social engineering and digital virality is fueling this transformation. Influencers and anonymous promoters often seed these scams through memes, testimonials, or even AI-generated videos posing as reputable figures.
Projects disguised as “community-driven” DAOs or staking protocols rope users in with unsustainable returns, creating a frenzy of buy-ins that mask the exit liquidity strategy.
As regulation struggles to catch up, the speed and scale at which these digital Ponzi schemes propagate make them harder to track.
Against this backdrop, Bitget has launched a dedicated Anti-Scam Hub, integrating real-time behavioral analytics to flag suspicious activity.
It has partnered with Elliptic and SlowMist to trace illicit fund flows and dismantle phishing infrastructures across multiple chains.
The report urges users to verify all asset-related instructions across multiple channels, noting that visual and auditory credibility is no longer enough. It also encourages projects to adopt on-chain signature broadcasts and maintain a single verified communication channel.
With scams advancing, so must user and ecosystem defenses. The crypto industry now faces a dual challenge: safeguarding assets and rebuilding user trust in a digital world where anyone can be anyone.
This report is timely, only hours after President Santiago Peña’s tweet claimed Paraguay adopted Bitcoin as legal tender. However, his X (Twitter) account was compromised, with red flags ranging from a Bitcoin wallet address to suspicious language, raising scam concerns.
Paraguay President’s X account was hacked.
The hacker claimed Bitcoin is now legal tender,
Paraguay holds a $5M BTC reserve, and there’s a crypto bond program.
It was all fake but the markets blinked.
Hacker: BTC is legal tender in Paraguay
CT:
Paraguay: That’s not… pic.twitter.com/wcYxXNiE4j
— Justin Wu π (@hackapreneur) June 10, 2025
Similarly, recent reports also indicated that North Korean IT workers used fraudulent identities to bypass KYC checks. BeInCrypto reported that they funnel crypto earnings back to the regime for its weapons program.
These incidents highlight the growing threat of bad actors in crypto, echoing the need for extra caution.
The post New Bitget Report Shows Harrowing Details of DeepFake and Zoom Crypto Scams appeared first on BeInCrypto.
The post Why is Crypto Market Going Down Today? XRP Crashes 4% as BTC and ETH Drop appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News
The cryptocurrency market saw a sharp dip in the last 24 hours, with the global crypto market cap falling by over 2.4% to $3.78 trillion. Top cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum were not spared from the downturn. Bitcoin dropped by more than 2% and is currently trading around $115,957, while Ethereum slipped over 3.6% to $3,717.
Altcoins have taken an even harder hit. Solana (SOL) is down by nearly 4.8%, now priced at $171, while Cardano (ADA) and Dogecoin (DOGE) fell by 4.89% and 5.87% respectively. XRP also saw a drop of around 3.7%. The current sideways action across many tokens has pushed the Altcoin Season Index down to 37 out of 100, meaning that Bitcoin continues to dominate market attention.
This downturn has been largely triggered by macroeconomic uncertainty, particularly after the U.S. Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates unchanged while issuing a stern warning about slowing economic growth. Markets had briefly rallied after the White House released a crypto policy report pushing for clearer SEC guidelines, but that faded quickly as the Fed’s message began to sink in.
Adding to the pressure, total liquidations across the crypto market reached nearly $631.98 million. When global economic signals turn bearish, capital tends to move out of riskier assets like altcoins first. With crypto no longer operating in a vacuum, market sentiment is being shaped by the same global forces that drive equities and commodities.
As of August 1st, President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff strategy is beginning to take effect. While tariffs are traditionally a concern for traditional markets and international trade, their ripple effect is now increasingly being felt in crypto markets. Tariffs often trigger inflationary pressures and destabilize fiat currencies, conditions that sometimes push investors toward Bitcoin and other digital assets as a hedge. However, in the short term, these sudden shocks often lead to liquidity crunches and panic selling, especially in risk-on assets like altcoins.
The post Why is Crypto Market Going Down Today? XRP Crashes 4% as BTC and ETH Drop appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News
The cryptocurrency market saw a sharp dip in the last 24 hours, with the global crypto market cap falling by over 2.4% to $3.78 trillion. Top cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum were not spared from the downturn. Bitcoin dropped by more than 2% and is currently trading around $115,957, while Ethereum slipped over 3.6% to …
XRP price drops 2.6% to hit $2.2 on Thursday as Ripple’s $5 billion rejected offer to acquire Circle coincides with bearish ETF-related sentiment.
XRP extended its weekly losses on Thursday, falling 2.6% to under $2.20 as major altcoins suffered considerable losses.
The drawdown came after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it would postpone decisions on all seven pending spot altcoin ETF applications.
The delay triggered immediate bearish sentiment across the crypto market, with Dogecoin (DOGE), Avalanche (AVAX), and Solana (SOL) also registering intraday losses of roughly 3%, according to Coingecko data
The synchronized pullback among altcoins highlights investor unease, particularly around assets with ETF filings currently under SEC review. While Bitcoin and Ethereum remained relatively stable, market data showed a distinct wave of outflows from tokens viewed as ETF contenders.
As seen above the 2.6% Ripple price dip saw its market capitalization slip below the $130 billion mark, wiping out short-term gains from late April. As regulatory uncertainty persists, risk-averse traders appear to be reducing exposure to altcoins vulnerable to SEC oversight.
Adding to the day’s market headwinds, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Ripple had made an unsolicited acquisition offer of between $4 billion and $5 billion to buy stablecoin issuer Circle. The bid was reportedly rejected as undervalued.
According to anonymous sources cited in the report, Circle—which issues the U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC—declined the proposal, stating the valuation did not reflect its current growth trajectory and IPO ambitions.
The disclosure of Ripple’s acquisition interest came just weeks after Circle filed a fresh prospectus for an initial public offering.
Circle, valued at $9 billion in a 2022 SPAC deal attempt, is the issuer of the world’s second-largest stablecoin and a key rival to Ripple’s newly launched RLUSD token.
Ripple, which has been expanding its presence in blockchain payments and stablecoin markets, has remained publicly quiet about the deal, with CEO Brad Garlinghouse previously indicating that future acquisitions were “on the table.”
As Circle pushes ahead with its IPO plans and market valuation, Ripple’s attempt to acquire a major player signals strategic urgency—but also hints at friction in executing that strategy. With altcoin sentiment already rattled by regulatory delays, the timing of Ripple’s bid and its rejection amplified downside pressure on XRP price action in the days ahead.
XRP price forecast today leans moderately bullish following a resilient bounce from the $2.19 intraday low, suggesting buyers are defending the short-term trend.
The daily candle closed at $2.2199, up 1.33%, holding above the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) at $2.1914. This level now acts as immediate support, helping anchor bullish sentiment.
The RSI reading of 53.83 indicates a slight positive bias, reinforced by the RSI moving average at 53.00, with the gap between them subtly widening, often a precursor to major breakout
Volume remains moderate at 6.73 million, hinting at cautious accumulation rather than breakout conviction. Price has remained supported above the ascending trendline drawn from early April lows, while the 200-day SMA overhead at $2.39 continues to cap upside potential. A clean break and close above $2.25 could trigger follow-through momentum toward $2.35. However, failure to reclaim this resistance in coming sessions may expose XRP to a pullback toward $2.10. Still, the preservation of higher lows suggests the broader structure remains intact and tilts the bias slightly in favor of the bulls.
The post XRP Valuation Tumbles Below $130B amid Ripple’s Surprise $5B Bid to Buy Circle (USDC) appeared first on CoinGape.
