$LIBRA Cryptocurrency Scandal: In 2025, Argentina’s president endorsed $LIBRA, causing a price surge. Soon after, it crashed over 90%, leading to $250 million in losses and fraud investigations.
Phemex Exchange Hack: A major security breach in January 2025 led to an $85 million loss. Hackers exploited vulnerabilities in Phemex’s hot wallet system, exposing security flaws in crypto exchanges.
KuCoin’s Legal Troubles: In 2025, KuCoin was fined nearly $300 million for running an unlicensed money transmission business, highlighting regulatory gaps in the crypto space.
FTX Collapse: One of the biggest crypto scandals, FTX misused billions in customer funds. Its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Binance Regulatory Issues: Binance admitted to compliance failures in 2023 and paid $4 billion in fines. Its CEO stepped down after the exchange was linked to illicit transactions.
Mt. Gox Hack: In 2014, 850,000 bitcoins were stolen from Mt. Gox, marking one of the largest exchange hacks ever and highlighting early security risks in crypto.
Bitconnect Ponzi Scheme: Promising high returns, Bitconnect collapsed in 2018, revealing itself as a Ponzi scheme. Investors lost billions in one of crypto’s most infamous scams.