Bitcoin skeptic Peter Schiff pitches onchain gold tokenization app, CZ calls it a ‘trust-me-bro’ token

Cryptocurrency use in the United States has grown over the past year, but concerns over fraud and trust continue to dominate. New research from Sumsub, a global verification and anti-fraud firm, shows that one in three Americans have either experienced or know someone affected by crypto-related scams.

Widespread Adoption, Persistent Risk

According to Sumsub’s survey, 36% of U.S. adults used or interacted with cryptocurrency in the past 12 months. Younger users are leading this adoption but also face higher exposure to scams. Nearly half of Gen Z, at 46%, and Millennials, at 49%, reported direct or indirect experience with fraud.

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The most common schemes include social engineering, Ponzi schemes, and fake giveaways, each cited by about 30% of respondents. Phishing, impersonation, fake airdrops, wallet draining, and rug pulls were also frequently reported. Synthetic identity fraud, often involving AI-generated deepfakes or forged documents, affected 35% of respondents, with nearly one in five personally targeted.

Sumsub’s internal data shows that synthetic identity document fraud in the U.S. increased by more than 300% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. Deepfake-related fraud rose by 700% during the same timeframe.

Financial Impact and Accountability

Among those affected by online or crypto scams, the average loss from the most severe incident was about 3,300 dollars. When asked who should be responsible for recovering the funds, 33% said platforms should bear the cost, while 20% believed individuals should absorb the losses themselves.

Declining Trust and Demand for Oversight

Despite growing participation, trust in cryptocurrency platforms remains low compared to traditional financial institutions. Only 26% of respondents expressed greater confidence in crypto services, while 54% said they trust them less, including 41% who said much less.

Most respondents support stronger regulatory measures. Three in five favor government regulation of crypto platforms, including proposed laws such as the GENIUS Act and the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act.

Both bills aim to create clear frameworks for stablecoin issuance and enhance consumer protection against fraud. Support for these measures is highest among people who have encountered scams.

AI-Related Concerns

Fraud driven by artificial intelligence has also drawn public attention. About 69% of respondents agreed that companies developing generative AI should be held accountable if their technology is misused to commit fraud. This survey of 2,000 U.S. adults was conducted during the first week of September this year.

By Anita Hamilton

The price of the crypto coin Binance Coin rose 5% Thursday after news that Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the exchange the coin is named after, received a pardon from President Donald Trump.

Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program at the crypto exchange. The exchange also agreed to pay $4 billion to resolve Justice Department charges.

Zhao served a four-month jail term in 2024.

"President Trump exercised his constitutional authority by issuing a pardon for Mr. Zhao, who was prosecuted by the Biden Administration in their war on cryptocurrency," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. "The Biden Administration's war on crypto is over."

Write to Anita Hamilton at anita.hamilton@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

Key takeaways:

• Ethereum’s triple bottom pattern near $3,750–$3,800 hints at a potential 10% rebound in October.

• Mega whales (10,000–100,000 ETH) are quietly accumulating, absorbing supply from smaller holders during the recent price decline.

Ethereum’s native token, Ether , is hinting at a textbook bearish reversal setup after dropping 6.50% so far in October.

Triple bottom rekindles ETH’s $4,000 potential

As of Thursday, Ether’s 4-hour chart shows a triple bottom, a setup that forms when prices hit the same support level three times and fail to break lower each time.

For ETH, that support sits around $3,750–$3,800, where buyers have consistently stepped in to defend the price. Each “bottom” shows sellers losing strength, while buyers quietly build momentum.

On November 20, 2025, LayerZero will unlock 25.71 million ZRO tokens, which is about 7.29% of its total released supply. This event can be important for the price of ZRO. A big token unlock usually means more tokens enter the market, and some holders may decide to sell. This can cause the price to drop if there is not enough buying to match. However, if most tokens go to long-term holders who do not sell, the price might not change much. Traders should watch closely. For more details, visit source.

Sonic plans a big mainnet upgrade to become compatible with Pectra on November 3, 2025. This upgrade will bring fee subsidies and better security, which could make the chain more popular and safer for users. Strong mainnet upgrades often show that a crypto project is developing well, and this can attract new users and investors. If the upgrade goes smoothly, the price of S could go up. If there are technical problems, confidence may fall. It is a key event to watch. Learn more at source.

Publicly listed bitcoin mining firms have diverged from bitcoin’s price performance in recent months, with their combined market capitalization climbing sharply since July even as bitcoin has traded sideways, according to JPMorgan analysts.

The shift marks a "clear breakdown" in the correlation between bitcoin mining stocks and the cryptocurrency’s price, JPMorgan analysts led by managing director Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou said in a report on Wednesday.

Mining stocks once moved closely in line with bitcoin and were often viewed as proxies for exposure to the asset before the launch of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. Now, with major bitcoin miners pivoting their business toward artificial intelligence infrastructure, their stocks are more driven by the AI theme rather than the bitcoin price, the analysts said.