Key Takeaways
- • The FTC reported more than $7.9 billion in investment fraud losses for 2025, with crypto and stock-related complaints among them, according to the article.
- • Gallup's June 2026 poll found 11% of Americans own crypto, down from 17% a year earlier, and 63% of investors call crypto a "very risky" investment.
- • New Jersey's Senate Commerce Committee advanced legislation in June 2026 to ban crypto ATMs; the FBI's New Jersey Division counted 369 state victims and about $18 million in losses from kiosk scams.
- • Nationally, crypto ATM fraud complaints rose 58% to more than $388 million in 2025.
- • This article is paid content produced in partnership with Binance, and its guidance on verifying tokens should be read in that context.
Summary
The Federal Trade Commission reported investment fraud as the most common type of scam, with more than $7.9 billion in losses for 2025. Crypto and stocks appeared in many of those complaints. Crypto ATM fraud drew particular attention, with complaints climbing past $388 million in 2025, a 58% increase over the prior year.
New Jersey is responding to the trend. According to news reports, state legislators moved closer to banning crypto ATMs when the Senate Commerce Committee advanced the proposed legislation in June 2026. The FBI's New Jersey Division counted 369 state residents as victims of crypto scams, with approximately $18 million lost through kiosk scams. The article also cites a local case in which a Philadelphia man bought a Pokémon card worth $24,200 using fake cryptocurrency at the Evesham police station's Safe Exchange Zone. Police identified him through video footage and license plate readers.
Adoption data show a split picture. Gallup's June 2026 poll found 11% of Americans own crypto, down from 17% in the same period a year earlier. In its September report, Gallup found 63% of investors consider crypto very risky, a figure that has stayed above 60% across four polls. Pew Research Center, interviewing in January 2026, found 19% of U.S. adults had invested in or used crypto, up from 16% in 2021. Pew's measure counts past or present use, while Gallup measures current ownership, so the two figures are not directly comparable. New Jersey's ownership rate is close to the national average, and the state has the fifth-highest share of residents who have invested in crypto, at 2.15%, per SmartAsset.
The article advises New Jersey households to watch for offers of guaranteed income, requests for quick transfers, and demands to send crypto to a specified address or to share a seed phrase or private key. It recommends verifying the person, researching a token's fundamentals, confirming registration with state and federal agencies, and treating guaranteed returns with suspicion. Richard Teng, co-CEO of Binance, is quoted from a July 2026 Cryptopolitan podcast saying stablecoin growth and tokenization may push legacy networks such as SWIFT toward blockchain support.
New Jersey is responding to the trend. According to news reports, state legislators moved closer to banning crypto ATMs when the Senate Commerce Committee advanced the proposed legislation in June 2026. The FBI's New Jersey Division counted 369 state residents as victims of crypto scams, with approximately $18 million lost through kiosk scams. The article also cites a local case in which a Philadelphia man bought a Pokémon card worth $24,200 using fake cryptocurrency at the Evesham police station's Safe Exchange Zone. Police identified him through video footage and license plate readers.
Adoption data show a split picture. Gallup's June 2026 poll found 11% of Americans own crypto, down from 17% in the same period a year earlier. In its September report, Gallup found 63% of investors consider crypto very risky, a figure that has stayed above 60% across four polls. Pew Research Center, interviewing in January 2026, found 19% of U.S. adults had invested in or used crypto, up from 16% in 2021. Pew's measure counts past or present use, while Gallup measures current ownership, so the two figures are not directly comparable. New Jersey's ownership rate is close to the national average, and the state has the fifth-highest share of residents who have invested in crypto, at 2.15%, per SmartAsset.
The article advises New Jersey households to watch for offers of guaranteed income, requests for quick transfers, and demands to send crypto to a specified address or to share a seed phrase or private key. It recommends verifying the person, researching a token's fundamentals, confirming registration with state and federal agencies, and treating guaranteed returns with suspicion. Richard Teng, co-CEO of Binance, is quoted from a July 2026 Cryptopolitan podcast saying stablecoin growth and tokenization may push legacy networks such as SWIFT toward blockchain support.
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