XRP News Today: XRP Near 2018 Peak as Crypto Scams Surge to $2.1 Billion in H1 2025

Generated by AI AgentCoin World
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025 11:06 pm ET2min read
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Aime RobotAime Summary

- Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse warns of surging crypto scams targeting XRP community as prices hit record highs.

- Scammers use fake YouTube accounts and giveaways to defraud users, with H1 2025 losses reaching $2.1 billion.

- Bitcoin and Ether prices rose sharply, but scams exploit market optimism through Punycode attacks and search ads.

- Ripple urges vigilance, reiterating it never conducts giveaways, as experts call for stronger security and regulation.

Fraudulent activity has intensified in the cryptocurrency sector as prices across major assets reach record levels, according to warnings from industry leaders.

Ripple
CEO Brad Garlinghouse highlighted a surge in scams targeting the
XRP
community, with impersonators exploiting YouTube and search platforms to lure victims through fake giveaways and spoofed content. Garlinghouse emphasized the need for vigilance, noting that losses from crypto scams reached $2.1 billion in the first half of 2025—a new high surpassing the $2 billion benchmark set in 2022.

XRP’s price climbed to $3.66 on July 18, nearing its 2018 peak of $3.84, while analysts predict further gains despite a recent 10% pullback. Concurrently,

Bitcoin
(BTC) rose over 7% in 14 days, trading above $119,000 per coin, and
Ether
(ETH) surged 31%, fetching $3,644 per token. Garlinghouse attributed the uptick in scams to the heightened market activity, stating, “Like clockwork, with success and market rallies, scammers ramp up their attacks on the crypto community—PLEASE BEWARE of the latest scam targeting the XRP family on YouTube and impersonating Ripple’s official account!” [1].

The impersonation tactics include hacking YouTube accounts to mimic Ripple’s official channel, which has over 81,000 subscribers. A scam identified by X user XtinaRP offered a free XRP giveaway, falsely appearing to be endorsed by Ripple. “This one looks very convincing. Scammers are using accounts with 176K subs to promote a fake 100M XRP event,” XtinaRP noted, adding, “Ripple will NEVER conduct giveaways. Stay cautious!” [2].

Ripple previously sued YouTube in 2021 over similar impersonation schemes, alleging the platform profited from scammers. The lawsuit cited spear-phishing attacks where hacked accounts were repurposed to promote fraudulent giveaways. The case was dropped in March 2021 after the company claimed a resolution with YouTube to combat scams collaboratively [3].

The issue extends beyond Ripple. Security firm Scam Sniffer reported that Google search results for cryptocurrency-related queries frequently feature scam advertisements at the top. These ads use Punycode attacks—a technique that disguises fake domains as legitimate ones in web browsers. “Pro tip for DeFi users: Stop using Google search for crypto sites unless you enjoy playing Russian roulette with your wallet,” Scam Sniffer advised [4].

Ripple reiterated that its team or executives would never request users to send XRP. The company urged users to report suspicious activity and remain cautious of offers that seem too good to be true. “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” Garlinghouse added [5].

The surge in scams underscores the risks accompanying rapid market growth. As prices soar, malicious actors continue to exploit user trust and platform vulnerabilities, prompting calls for heightened security measures and regulatory scrutiny.

Source:

[1] [title1] [https://coinmarketcap.com/community/articles/6881a07fc5f9dd12659f9833/]

[2] [title2] [https://coinmarketcap.com/community/articles/6881a07fc5f9dd12659f9833/]

[3] [title3] [https://coinmarketcap.com/community/articles/6881a07fc5f9dd12659f9833/]

[4] [title4] [https://coinmarketcap.com/community/articles/6881a07fc5f9dd12659f9833/]

[5] [title5] [https://coinmarketcap.com/community/articles/6881a07fc5f9dd12659f9833/]