The New Criminal Economy: Cybercrime Moves On-Chain

As the world shifts toward blockchain and tokenised finance, so too do its criminals. The Cybersecurity Forecast 2026 paints a clear picture of what’s next: the emergence of an on-chain cybercrime economy, where blockchain’s transparency and immutability are both a weapon and a weakness.

Crypto Adoption Breeds New Threats

The integration of digital assets into mainstream finance has expanded the global attack surface. Threat actors are exploiting decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, cryptocurrency exchanges, and tokenized asset systems for high value theft. Regions such as the U.S., Southeast Asia, and the Middle East with growing regulatory acceptance are particularly attractive targets.

Malware Goes Blockchain-Native

Google’s threat researchers anticipate that adversaries will soon migrate entire components of their operations onto public blockchains. Beyond payload delivery via “EtherHiding,” we may soon see decentralised command-and-control (C2) systems, data exfiltration through smart contracts, and tokenized marketplaces for selling stolen data.

This evolution creates near impossible conditions for takedown operations, since blockchain transactions are permanent and globally distributed. Yet that same immutability could ultimately help defenders every malicious transaction leaves a permanent, traceable record. Analysts will increasingly need blockchain forensics skills to follow the digital money trail.

Ransomware and Extortion Still Dominate

Even as cybercrime becomes more sophisticated, ransomware remains the most financially disruptive threat. In Q1 2025 alone, over 2,300 victims were listed on data leak sites – the highest ever recorded. Attackers are increasingly combining voice phishing (vishing), zero-day exploitation, and data theft in multilayered extortion campaigns.

Sandra Joyce, VP of Google Threat Intelligence, cautions, “We expect to see more ransomware and extortion. This problem is going to continue and increase in 2026.”

In short: cybercrime is no longer just a shadow economy – it’s an entire financial ecosystem. And like any economy, it thrives on innovation, speed, and scale.