cryptocurrency fraud

Cryptocurrency fraud is, in Danish legal usage, a practical label for fraud in which the perpetrator uses cryptocurrency or promises of crypto investments as a tool to obtain an unlawful gain for himself or others. No separate criminal provision of that name exists under Danish law — cases of this type are instead brought under the general fraud provisions of the Danish Penal Code (straffeloven) where the conditions for this are met. Treated as fraud, it requires that the perpetrator misleads the victim through false information or concealment and thereby induces a disposition that results in a loss.

In a cryptocurrency context, this typically occurs through fake investment platforms, fabricated partnerships with well-known companies, or offerings of non-existent digital assets — a pattern known for instance from cases such as Centra Tech, where false Visa and Mastercard partnerships were used to attract investors. The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (Finanstilsynet) has highlighted cryptocurrency as an area with a particularly high risk of fraud and a weak level of consumer protection. This regulatory grey zone means that injured parties can rarely rely on the same protective mechanisms that apply to traditional financial products, and that the burden of proof in criminal cases rests heavily in practice on documenting the fraudulent intent.

In a true crime context, the term is used broadly for a range of behavioural patterns: ICO fraud (Initial Coin Offering), pumping and dumping of cryptocurrency prices, fake trading platforms that withhold deposits, and so-called rug pulls, where developers abandon a project and drain investors' funds. Common to all of them is that under Danish criminal law they are handled under the existing fraud provisions rather than under special legislation.