Fraud losses in the cryptocurrency sector reached $370 million in January, setting an 11 month high

According to CertiK data, in January 2026, the encryption industry suffered losses of approximately $370.3 million due to vulnerability exploitation and fraud, a new high in nearly 11 months and nearly four times that of January 2025. Among them, social engineering attack cases resulted in losses of approximately $284 million. Uniswap founder Hayden Adams warns that search engine ads impersonating Uniswap continue to appear, causing users to lose high-value encrypted assets by clicking on forged links. Scammers purchase keyword advertisements to top fake websites, induce users to connect to wallets and authorize transactions, and the funds are immediately transferred away. Analysis indicates that the loss of encrypted assets is more due to user level risks such as phishing links, false advertising, and social engineering attacks, rather than underlying smart contract vulnerabilities.