EU’s Crypto Regulation Cleanup Sparks Wave of New Scams

The European Union’s crypto cleanup has created an unexpected opportunity for scammers. When the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, known as MiCA, took full effect on July 1, more than 1,700 unlicensed platforms were required to stop serving EU customers. Only 323 companies held valid authorization at the time, leaving up to 10 million users needing to move their assets, a gap fraudsters quickly exploited by copying migration notices and impersonating regulators to push victims toward fake platforms.

Impersonation Scams Rising Across Europe

Crypto exchange WhiteBIT found that nearly 41 percent of last year’s crypto incidents involved impersonation or fake investment offers, and regulators say scams have increased since the July deadline. France’s AMF reported scammers posing as its staff to collect fake recovery fees, while the European Securities and Markets Authority confirmed criminals have misused its name and logo through falsified documents.

The Netherlands’ AFM warned that the migration process itself has become the main attack surface, urging investors to verify providers through the official ESMA register before transferring funds. Austria’s Financial Market Authority issued a similar warning, encouraging users to double check databases or move assets to self-hosted wallets entirely.

A Familiar Pattern for Regulators

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority logged 4,465 fake FCA impersonation reports in just the first half of 2025, with 480 victims losing money, often after being told the agency had recovered funds from a wallet fraudulently opened in their name. Regulators stressed they never request fund transfers or contact users through private messages, and advised investors to verify the specific licensed entity behind a platform, since a license held by a parent brand doesn’t automatically cover every subsidiary.