According to Zach Burks, CEO of Mintology, the crypto landscape is currently experiencing what he terms “crime season,” characterized by numerous hacks and unlawful activities undermining investor trust.
In 2025 alone, more than $2.2 billion in cryptocurrency has been reported stolen, including a significant $1.5 billion theft executed by North Korea’s Lazarus Group. In correspondence, Burks cautioned that this surge in criminal incidents is harming market stability and presenting a national security concern.
“The heightened awareness of crime within the crypto space has led to a 56% decline in the meme coin market since December,” Burks noted. “Concurrently, Bitcoin’s value has decreased from $106,000 to $83,000, with the potential to further drop to $72,000 in the weeks ahead.”
He recommends that investors, particularly those invested in meme coins, prepare for ongoing fluctuations over the next six weeks.
Regulation won’t remedy crypto’s crime issues
Burks asserts that conventional regulatory entities, such as the SEC and FCA, are not adequately equipped to combat crypto-related crime.
According to him, these organizations “struggle to recover stolen crypto assets and often contribute to unnecessary bureaucracy, detracting from the core goals that crypto was designed to achieve.”
He posits that what is needed is a decentralized, community-focused strategy. “We should cultivate a network of community-driven experts, akin to Zach XBT, who can effectively address illicit transactions carried out by large-scale operations, restoring trust in crypto and ensuring that capital does not vanish permanently,” Burks emphasized.
Burks maintains that this challenge extends beyond merely protecting individual investors; it is fundamentally a matter of national security. He argues that relying on political figures and bureaucratic processes will not yield effective solutions. What is truly necessary, he claims, are pragmatic advocates within the crypto community who can push for an equitable landscape.