A fact that many people overlook: The explosion of the scam industry in Southeast Asia happened almost simultaneously with the rise of cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency solved several major challenges that scam groups faced over the past decades: Payment issues: In the past, bank transfers were easily frozen. Now, USDT can be transferred globally in just a few minutes. Cross-border issues: Scam groups operate in Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, while victims are in China, Europe, the US, Japan. Yet funds can flow in real-time. Money laundering issues: Previously, underground banks had to transfer funds layer by layer. Now, large-scale fund transfers can be completed via on-chain and OTC transactions. Expansion issues: With a stable payment and transfer system in place, the scam industry began industrializing and expanding as organized groups. Many people think Southeast Asian scam parks rely on guns and violence. In reality, what's more critical is: the Internet + social media + cryptocurrency. If the Internet solved the customer acquisition problem, then USDT solved the payment problem. In a sense, cryptocurrency has significantly reduced the operating costs of the scam industry. However, in recent years, with strengthened global regulations, widespread exchange KYC, matured on-chain tracking technologies, and joint efforts by various countries to crack down on Southeast Asian scam parks, the expansion speed of the scam industry has noticeably slowed. A thought-provoking question: If stablecoins like USDT hadn’t existed back then, would the scam industry in Southeast Asia have grown to its current scale?