The head of Australia’s competition regulator warned that US President Donald Trump’s pledge to relax crypto regulations could lead to “horror scenarios”By making Australians more susceptible to scams, they become less protected against investment fraud.
Gina Cass Gottlieb, Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission(ACCC), stated that any weakness in oversight could increase the risk of crypto-related fraud.
Cass Gottlieb spoke to ABC News.
“This is an environment — because of the sophistication of global crime, and also because potentially of regulatory ‘freeing up’ — that we certainly have an enhanced concern.”
Trump has promised that the US will become the world’s leading crypto-nation. “crypto capital of the planet.”The regulatory environment has begun to change under his administration in a more friendly direction for cryptocurrency.
This is a stark contrast to the position of President Joe Biden whose administration took legal action against crypto companies and adopted an “regulation by enforcement”The approach was widely criticized.
The crypto scam is a serious concern
According to ACCC data, Australian consumers lost more than $1.3 billion to investment scams in 2023, with crypto playing a significant role — either as a payment method or as the subject of fraudulent schemes.
In its 2025-2026 enforcement priorities, the ACCC will focus on financial scams and frauds as well as competition issues in other industries like aviation and retail.
Scammers could take advantage of the loosening crypto regulation in large markets such as the US to scam Australian investors, the regulator warned.
Cass-Gottlieb’s remarks come as Australia continues to debate its own regulatory approach to digital assets. Consumer protection groups argue that the country needs to do more to stop fraudulent schemes.
The ACCC’s concerns add to the ongoing global debate over crypto regulation, with policymakers balancing innovation and financial security amid rising mainstream adoption of digital assets.
The rise of scams
In 2024, according to a Web3 report, the most common crypto fraud was pig-butchering schemes, which caused $3.6 billion of losses.
Crypto scams that use the long-term method of fraud, in which victims are manipulated over time to make fraudulent investments, have surpassed all other types. Cyvers traced these scams to over 150,000 blockchain addresses, highlighting the scheme’s widespread nature.
Scammers are increasingly using dating apps and social networks to lure their victims. They create fake profiles in order to gain trust, before convincing them to invest on fraudulent platforms. Cyber investigators have recovered more than $1.3 billion worth of stolen assets thanks to bug-bounty programs and on-chain tracking.
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