證券交易委員會正在擴大其加密貨幣執法部門。為什麼這很重要？因為犯罪遍及加密貨幣行業。

就在上個月，一名黑客從加密貨幣交易所Bybit偷走了大約15億美元，該行業有史以來最大的盜竊。正如該事件所表明的那樣，加密犯罪似乎越來越嚴重，而不是更好。

The Securities and Exchange Commission is scaling back its cryptocurrency enforcement unit. Why does this matter? Because crime pervades the crypto industry.

證券交易委員會正在擴大其加密貨幣執法部門。為什麼這很重要？因為犯罪遍及加密貨幣行業。

Last month, a hacker stole about $1.5 billion from the crypto exchange Bybit in the biggest theft the industry has ever experienced. As this incident suggests, crypto crime seems to be getting worse, not better.

上個月，一名黑客從加密貨幣交易所Bybit偷走了該行業有史以來最大的盜竊案中的約15億美元。正如該事件所表明的那樣，加密犯罪似乎越來越嚴重，而不是更好。

Indeed, crypto crime likely broke records last year. Illicit crypto addresses received an estimated total of $40 billion to as much as $75 billion in 2024.

確實，加密犯罪可能破壞了去年的記錄。非法加密貨幣地址估計在2024年收到了400億美元，達到750億美元。

Cryptocurrency is being used to perpetrate crimes that affect all Americans. One of the best examples is ransomware, malicious software that prevents users from accessing their computer files, systems or networks unless they pay a ransom. Crypto is the dominant form of payment demanded in these attacks because it enables cybercriminals to receive money anonymously and quickly transfer their illicit gains overseas.

加密貨幣被用來犯下影響所有美國人的犯罪。最好的例子之一是勒索軟件，惡意軟件，可以防止用戶訪問其計算機文件，系統或網絡，除非他們支付贖金。加密是這些攻擊中要求的主要付款方式，因為它使網絡犯罪分子能夠匿名收到錢，並迅速將其非法收益轉移到海外。

Ransomware attacks reached an all-time high in 2024, targeting sectors that Americans rely on every day. In February 2024, for example, the insurer UnitedHealth Group experienced an attack that affected hospitals, doctors’ offices, pharmacies and millions of patients across the nation. UnitedHealth paid a ransom of about $22 million in bitcoin.

勒索軟件攻擊在2024年達到了歷史最高的高度，針對美國人每天依賴的部門。例如，在2024年2月，保險公司聯合健康集團（UnitedHealth Group）遭受了一場攻擊，影響了全國醫院，醫生辦公室，藥房和數百萬患者。 UnitedHealth支付了約2200萬美元的比特幣贖金。

Like ransomware attacks, meme coin “rug pulls” can have many victims. A meme coin is a cryptocurrency that is inspired by a celebrity, meme or internet trend. They’re highly volatile, speculative assets that are susceptible to fraud. In a rug pull, insiders buy up a large share of meme coin tokens in advance and then dump them after the price soars, leaving regular investors with tokens that are essentially worthless.

像勒索軟件攻擊一樣，模因硬幣“地毯拉力”可能會有許多受害者。模因硬幣是一種受名人，模因或互聯網趨勢的啟發的加密貨幣。它們很容易受到欺詐的影響，投機性的資產高度易變。內部人員提前購買了大量的模因硬幣令牌，然後在價格飆升之後將其丟棄，使常規投資者擁有本質上一文不值的代幣。

One recent example is the case of Haliey Welch, who gained internet fame as the “Hawk Tuah Girl” when she was featured in a TikTok video that went viral. In December, after parlaying her newfound celebrity into a merchandise line and podcast, she launched a meme coin. The coin’s price initially surged, but its value quickly plummeted by more than 90% after a small group of owners sold off more than 80% of the token’s supply. One investor wrote on social media, “I am a huge fan of Hawk Tuah but you took my life savings.”

Haliey Welch最近的一個例子是Haliey Welch的案例，當她在Tiktok視頻中被廣播時，她成為了“ Hawk Tuah Girl”的互聯網名聲。 12月，在將新發現的名人放入商品和播客中後，她推出了模因硬幣。硬幣的價格最初飆升，但其價值迅速下降了90％以上，因為一小部分業主出售了代幣的80％以上的供應。一位投資者在社交媒體上寫道：“我是霍克·圖阿（Hawk Tuah）的忠實擁護者，但您省下了我的一生。”

While rug pulls dupe multiple investors at a time, many crypto crimes target individual victims. One particularly devastating crypto fraud is known as “pig butchering” or “romance baiting.” These scams involve online criminals luring their victims into fake romances and then stealing their money by inducing them to invest in cryptocurrency.

儘管地毯一次一次拉杜佩（Dupe）的多個投資者，但許多加密犯罪犯罪以個人受害者為目標。一個特別毀滅性的加密欺詐被稱為“豬屠宰”或“浪漫誘餌”。這些騙局涉及在線罪犯將受害者引誘偽造浪漫史，然後通過誘使他們投資加密貨幣來竊取他們的錢。

Many people lose their life savings to these scams. One California victim, Shai Plonski, said he thought he had found the “perfect woman” on Facebook. Plonski and “Sandy” traded messages about their supposedly shared interests in yoga and poetry until Plonski revealed that his business was struggling, at which point Sandy suggested he invest in crypto with her guidance. Plonski eventually put his life savings into what he thought was a cryptocurrency investment and, when he became concerned, found he couldn’t withdraw his funds. He was one of more than 40,000 victims of these scams in the United States.

許多人對這些騙局失去了生命的儲蓄。加利福尼亞州的一名受害者Shai Plonski說，他認為他在Facebook上找到了“完美的女人”。普朗斯基（Plonski）和“桑迪（Sandy）”（Sandy）交易了有關他們所謂的瑜伽和詩歌興趣的信息，直到普朗斯基（Plonski）透露他的業務一直在掙扎，這時桑迪（Sandy）建議他在指導下投資加密貨幣。普朗斯基最終將自己的一生儲蓄投入了他認為是一項加密貨幣投資，當他感到擔憂時，發現他無法撤回他的資金。他是美國這些騙局的40,000多名受害者之一。

Another scam on the rise involves bitcoin ATMs. A scammer persuades a victim to deposit cash into a bitcoin ATM by using a QR code. The ATM then converts the cash to bitcoin that is immediately transferred to the scammer’s digital wallet.

興起的另一個騙局涉及比特幣自動取款機。騙子說服受害者使用QR碼將現金存入比特幣ATM中。然後，ATM將現金轉換為比特幣，該比特幣立即轉移到騙子的數字錢包中。

Seniors are particularly susceptible to bitcoin ATM scams. Beaufort County, S.C., which has a large senior population, reported $3.1 million in losses to crypto scams last year, including several involving bitcoin ATMs. One retired healthcare worker got a call purportedly from the sheriff’s office, informing her that she had missed her jury duty and must post a $7,500 bond to remain free until her court date. She deposited the cash into a bitcoin ATM and lost the money.

老年人特別容易受到比特幣ATM騙局的影響。南卡羅來納州的博福特縣（Beaufort County）擁有大量的高年級人口，去年向加密貨幣騙局報告了310萬美元的損失，其中包括一些涉及比特幣ATM的損失。一名退休的醫療工作者據稱從警長辦公室接到電話，通知她她錯過了陪審團的職責，必鬚髮表7,500美元的保證金才能保持免費，直到她的開庭日期。她將現金存入了比特幣ATM中，並損失了錢。

These are just a few of the ways in which criminals use crypto to harm ordinary Americans. Unfortunately, there are many others, some of which are used to finance terrorism. This is why we should be strengthening our efforts to prevent crypto crime, not weakening them.

這些只是罪犯使用加密貨幣傷害普通美國人的幾種方式。不幸的是，還有許多其他，其中一些用於為恐怖主義提供資金。這就是為什麼我們應該加強為防止加密犯罪而不是削弱他們的努力的原因。

The SEC’s new leaders say they don’t want crypto to “be a haven for fraudsters.” Unfortunately, it already is. It’s up to them and other regulators to protect the American people from the crime that pervades this industry.

SEC的新領導人說，他們不希望加密“成為欺詐者的避風港”。不幸的是，已經是。他們和其他監管機構由保護美國人民免受遍及該行業的罪行的侵害。