A cryptocurrency user has lost nearly $50 million in stablecoins after falling victim to an address poisoning scam, a growing threat that relies more on human error than technical hacks. The incident highlights how even experienced crypto users can be tricked — and comes as U.S. lawmakers push new legislation to crack down on rising digital asset fraud.
According to blockchain security firm Web3 Antivirus, the victim mistakenly sent 49,999,950 stablecoin tokens to a fraudulent wallet address that closely resembled the intended recipient. The error happened after the user copied the address from their transaction history — a common habit that scammers are now exploiting at scale.
How the scam unfolded
The user initially did everything right. They sent a small test transaction to the correct address to confirm it worked. Minutes later, however, when making the full transfer, they copied what appeared to be the same address from their wallet’s transaction history.
That address had been “poisoned.”
Address poisoning scams work by planting fake wallet addresses into a user’s transaction history. These addresses are designed to look almost identical to legitimate ones, often matching the first and last few characters. When users later copy the address without carefully checking every character, they may unknowingly send funds straight to scammers.
Security experts emphasize that this type of scam doesn’t exploit flaws in blockchain protocols or smart contracts. Instead, it takes advantage of everyday copy-and-paste behavior.
Web3 Antivirus noted that the victim’s wallet had been active for about two years and was mainly used for stablecoin transactions. The funds were withdrawn from Binance shortly before the poisoned transfer occurred, making the loss one of the largest on-chain incidents reported this year.
Crypto fraud on the rise
The case adds to a growing list of major crypto-related losses in 2025, a year that has already seen billions of dollars wiped out due to scams and hacks, according to industry data.
As fraud accelerates, U.S. lawmakers are stepping in. Senators Elissa Slotkin and Jerry Moran recently introduced the SAFE Crypto Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at strengthening the government’s response to cryptocurrency fraud.
Officially known as the Strengthening Agency Frameworks for Enforcement of Cryptocurrency Act, the proposal would establish a federal task force focused on identifying, monitoring, and disrupting crypto scams. The task force would bring together government agencies, law enforcement, and private-sector experts to improve coordination and enforcement.
The legislation specifically targets fraud schemes such as Ponzi scams, rug pulls, fake token offerings, money laundering, and financial grooming scams, which lawmakers say disproportionately affect older investors.
The bill also invites participation from digital asset companies, including stablecoin issuers, custodians, blockchain intelligence firms, consumer protection groups, and victim advocacy organizations.
How users can protect themselves
Security specialists urge crypto users to double-check wallet addresses using multiple verification methods, especially before sending large amounts. Other best practices include using hardware wallets, avoiding copied addresses from transaction history, and relying on on-chain monitoring tools that can flag suspicious activity before funds are sent.
As this $50 million loss shows, in crypto, a single copied address can make all the difference.
Also Read: Binance Under Fire as $1.7B in Flagged Crypto Flows Emerge
