Germany’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) reported a remarkable increase in crypto-related crimes compared to last year. Despite an overall decline in Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), crypto crimes are on the rise.

In its annual report released on June 10, 2025, the FIU disclosed that there were 8,711 suspicious crypto activity notifications in 2024, up about 8.2% from 8,049 in 2023.

This surge in crypto crimes has occurred in the context of declining SARs following new guidelines introduced by the FIU, which helped weed out irrelevant reports, as reported by Bloomberg. The report indicates that the majority of flagged transactions involved Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, and Litecoin, often linked to mixing services, online gambling, and trading platforms.

The agency also noted that these cryptocurrencies are increasingly involved in transactions that conceal the origins of illegal funds, highlighting the role of digital assets in money laundering schemes.

To put the context into perspective, Christopher Delzotto, section chief at the FBI, stated that his agency alerted over 5,400 victims of crypto scams from January 2024 to April of this year, many unaware that they were targeted.

Crypto-Related Crimes on the Rise Globally

The FIU’s findings echo a similar report from the FBI concerning the rise of crypto crimes during 2024. Countries like the US and UK are experiencing similar trends, with the UK’s National Crime Agency noting that over 6.6% of SARs filed were linked to crypto exchanges.

As part of regulatory measures, the EU plans to ban privacy-enhancing coins by July 1, 2027, amid increasing concerns over crypto scams.

Key Takeaways

• Germany’s FIU recorded 8,711 suspicious crypto notifications in 2024.
• Although crypto transactions decreased by 15% in 2023, the laundered crypto volume fell by 30%.
• Total SARs in the US reached 4.6 million in 2023.