Those numbers suggest that fewer people than ever are falling for cryptocurrency scams. One reason for this could be that with asset prices falling, cryptocurrency scams — which typically present themselves as passive crypto investing opportunities with enormous promised returns — are less enticing to potential victims. We also hypothesize that new, inexperienced users who are more likely to fall for scams are less prevalent in the market now that prices are declining, as opposed to when prices are rising and they’re drawn in by hype and the promise of quick returns.

Darknet market revenue is also down significantly in 2022, and is currently 43% lower than where it was through July in 2021. Unlike with scams, however, this hasn’t been the case for the entire year — 2022 darknet market revenue was tracking above 2021 until April, at which point its rate of increase dropped off a cliff. This is almost certainly due to the April 5 shutdown and sanctioning of Hydra Marketplace, which for years had been the predominant darknet market, acting as a hub not just for drug sales, but for sales of hacking tools, stolen data, and money laundering services.