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Bitget Research’s latest report highlighted a striking increase in frauds using deepfake technology. According to their data, malicious technology usage increased by 245% in 2024 alone. These frauds, often involving deepfake videos of celebrities, have become increasingly sophisticated, targeting unsuspecting investors and causing significant financial losses.
Deepfake Fraud Reaches New Heights
Deepfake technology, which alters photos and videos to create hyper-realistic fake content, plays a major role in promoting fraud schemes. According to the report, users have lost $79.1 billion in cyberattacks involving deepfakes since the beginning of 2022.
Losses are increasing every year; in 2024, the amount more than doubled, showing a significant increase of 245%. Bitget estimates that the potential damage from deepfake fraud could reach $10 billion per quarter by 2025. CEO Gracy Chen shared the following statements regarding the Bitget report:
“Deepfakes are rapidly entering the crypto sector, and without proper education and awareness, there is little we can do to stop them. Users’ vigilance and ability to distinguish fraud from genuine offers remain the most effective line of defense against such crimes until a comprehensive legal and cybersecurity framework is established globally.”
Among these methods, social engineering and bot fraud accounted for 14.21% of all deepfake crimes in the first quarter of 2024. Analysts estimate the loss from these methods to be $2.03 billion. If effective measures are not taken, the number of malicious technology incidents in the crypto industry could increase by 70% by early 2026.
Crypto Market and Deepfake
The rise in deepfake technology coincided with the increasing popularity of tokens related to popular figures. In the past few months, dozens of new memecoins featuring both real celebrities and impersonators have been launched, sparking intense debates within the crypto community about market manipulation, fraud, and the ethical implications of leveraging celebrity influence in cryptocurrency promotions.
Well-known entrepreneurs are frequently targeted by scammers. On June 23, a five-hour YouTube live stream featuring a deepfake video of Elon Musk promoted a cryptocurrency scam, continuing the trend of similar fraudulent streams.
The now-removed video allegedly showed a live Tesla event using an AI-generated version of Musk’s voice to lure viewers to a website. The fake Musk urged viewers to invest Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), or Dogecoin (DOGE) for a supposed giveaway, promising to automatically double the amount in return.
