New Delhi, Aug. 24 -- The June 2025 report of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) highlights a $1.46 billion theft by North Korea, one of the biggest heists in the history of crypto. Riding on the back of other major crypto scams, from Africrypt (South Africa 2012), One Coin (global 2014-17), Bitconnect (global 2016-18) and Plus Token Scam (China 2019) to FTX (US/Bahamas 2022), a new class of instruments has unmistakably arrived on the crime scene.

Cryptocurrencies made their debut in 2009 with the invention of Bitcoin. By design, a cryptocurrency uses blockchain technology for records and verification, with an unchangeable internet ledger that tracks transfers. These virtual assets have emerged as a unit of account, medium of exchang...