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AI use in crypto crime climbs 40% year over year, TRM Labs finds

TRM Labs estimates overall AI-in-crypto-crime adoption at 54 out of 100, up from about 28 in 2024, with scams driving most of the rise.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Regulation

Crypto crime is increasingly incorporating artificial intelligence, with TRM Labs saying AI adoption in crypto crimes rose 40% year over year.

In TRM Labs’ 2026 AI-in-Crime Adoption Index, overall AI use across crypto crime sits at an emerging level of 54 out of 100, up from about 28 in 2024. The report characterizes scams as the most mature category for AI use, while hacking and ransomware remain emerging, and narcotics and darknet markets are at an earlier horizon stage.

The Block reports that TRM attributed much of the increase to scammers using AI for activities such as vulnerability analysis, social engineering, and infiltration. TRM also said the share of crypto scam reports involving AI, including deepfakes or AI chatbots, has risen as much as 13 times since 2022.

The report further said reported losses from deepfake scams in 2026 to date have already surpassed the full-year 2025 total by 263%. TRM also pointed to crypto hacks, including alleged use by North Korean cyber actors of deepfake IT-worker infiltration, AI-run social engineering, and AI-assisted vulnerability discovery to target firms and protocols.

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