ZachXBT has posted a strongly worded thread, warning that the crypto space is entering the most dangerous "crime supercycle" ever seen.

"The crime supercycle is indeed very real."

He notes that while crypto has always been vulnerable to abuse, the situation has worsened significantly since politicians began launching meme coins and major lawsuits were dropped—setting dangerous precedents and encouraging fraud.

Laundering networks and small OTC brokers appear to have "won" by effortlessly laundering funds stolen in recent hacks like Bybit, DMM Bitcoin, and WazirX. ZachXBT estimates that the “Black U” market on the Tron network is worth at least $5–10 billion, with most of it untraceable.

"I estimate the Black U market on Tron is no less than $5–10B and largely unattributed."

He criticizes DeFi projects for ignoring the fact that over 50% of activity on their protocols comes from stolen funds, while continuing to collect fees. Influencers and KOLs scam followers and projects without facing consequences. Some courts even side with smart contract exploiters due to outdated laws.

"Can we fix the system if the vast majority of people still do not care unless they lose money?"

ZachXBT warns that apathy could lead to long-term destruction of the ecosystem—even if, in the short term, "everyone’s doing it, so why not me?"

"If you ever wanted the opportunity to extract from the industry there's not been much of a better time."

He ends with sarcasm: black hat actions like phishing and social engineering are more dangerous than ever, while gray hat behavior is seemingly rewarded.

"Surely this time is different…"

https://x.com/zachxbt/status/1935178436970168347