True believers have touted cryptocurrency as a better, more efficient, futuristic replacement for cash as we know it. They are right in one very specific way: These virtual currencies have proven to be incredibly efficient at separating people from their money in ways that more traditional scams could only dream of achieving. An analysis published recently by the Federal Trade Commission found that Americans lost more than $1 billion to cryptocurrency scams in 2021, and that number is likely to grow.
The biggest source of cash lost in the Web3 era has been bogus cryptocurrency investments. These are scam coins and rug pulls in which founders and influencers trick a bunch of people into pouring cash into a project, before cashing out and leaving their marks holding the bag. The FTC estimates that $575 million vanished this way.
