It’s getting harder to ignore the feeling that crypto scams are spiraling out of control. The numbers are one thing, but the sheer boldness of the schemes is another. According to the analytics group Bubblemaps, the current methods for preventing these crimes just aren’t cutting it. And honestly, looking at the past week, it’s difficult to disagree.
A System That’s Failing
Bubblemaps recently took to social media to voice what many are quietly thinking. The post was blunt. It described a week that “truly exposed the failures of our industry,” pointing out that the same scammers keep running the same plays, right in the open. Nobody, it seems, is stopping them. The group highlighted two recent incidents that perfectly illustrate why everyone feels so powerless.
Two Cases in Point
The first involved the YZY meme coin. Almost immediately, cybersecurity experts spotted a major red flag: the very first buyer was a known rug puller. Warnings went out, but they were largely ignored. Retail investors piled in anyway, either unaware of the danger or betting they could get out before the collapse. It’s a pattern we’ve seen too many times.
On the other end of the spectrum was the involvement of Hayden Davis. Right after a U.S. judge unfroze his assets in connection with a separate case, he was linked to sniping the YZY token. It shows a jarring lack of consequences. The system moves slowly; the crypto world moves at light speed. This gap creates a sense of impunity, and it’s not just a U.S. problem. Bubblemaps stressed that cross-border operations make everything more complicated.
Then there was the fake meme coin promoted, perhaps unknowingly, by executives from Zora and Coinbase. On-chain investigator ZachXBT had been documenting the individual behind it for weeks. The whole thing revealed a different kind of failure: sometimes, the very companies that could help are slow to act or don’t coordinate with community sleuths.
An Uphill Battle
So where does this leave us? Bubblemaps argues that the current environment only makes theft more efficient. Crimes go unpunished, and victims lose hope. The post called for the industry to set its own rules and hold itself to a higher standard, noting that this cycle will just repeat until there are real consequences.
They didn’t offer a neat, packaged solution—and maybe that’s the most honest part. There are ideas, sure. Using blockchain’s own decentralized nature to fight fraud is one. But will enough people get behind it? And how do you stop someone who’s convinced they can beat the odds?
It’s a strange moment. The industry is gaining more mainstream traction than ever, but this undercurrent of scams threatens to undermine it all. If trust erodes too far, it could scare away the very people needed for crypto to grow. For now, the criminals seem to be winning.
