Following the Ethereum upgrade, the volume of “dust” transactions involving USDT increased by 612%., 2026/03/13 12:52:17

Following the Fusaka update in the Ethereum network, the incidence of address poisoning attacks has surged significantly. According to analysts at Etherscan, over the past three months, the volume of “crypto dust” transactions in USDT has risen by 612%.

In the 90 days post-update, the daily transaction count in the network increased by 30%, while the number of new addresses grew by 78%, analysts report. There has also been a notable rise in microtransactions:

• in USDT — from 4.2 million to 29.9 million;

• in USDC — from 2.6 million to 14.9 million (+473%);

• in DAI — from 142,405 to 811,029 (+470%);

• in ETH — from 104.5 million to 169.7 million (+62%).

Etherscan provides an example of a user who, after two stablecoin transfers, received over 89 notifications from the Address Watch Alert service. All fraudulent transactions were generated in less than 30 minutes following the original operations.

Security experts note that attackers typically target wallets with frequent transactions, substantial balances, or recent large transfers. Automated systems then create addresses that visually resemble those the user has already interacted with. Usually, the first and last characters of the address match.

Subsequently, “crypto dust” transfers, which are either fake or zero-value transactions, are sent to the victim’s wallet. These clutter the transaction history and increase the likelihood that the user will mistakenly send funds to a counterfeit address.

Occasionally, multiple groups of attackers simultaneously target the same wallet. The one whose fake address appears first in the transaction history has the highest chance of successfully stealing funds.

Etherscan estimates that approximately one out of every 10,000 attempts is successful. However, with mass distributions, even such a rate can yield profits for the attackers. Following the update, transaction fees in the Ethereum network have significantly decreased, making “dust” attacks more profitable.

A study conducted in 2025, covering the period from July 2022 to June 2024—prior to the Fusaka update—identified around 17 million wallet “poisoning” attempts. At least 1.3 million users were affected by this scheme, with total losses amounting to no less than $79.3 million. In networks with lower fees, such as the BNB Smart Chain (BSC), similar attacks occur 1355% more frequently, analysts note.

Previously, the developers of the Trust Wallet cryptocurrency wallet announced the implementation of automated protection against “crypto dust” attacks. The new system checks addresses in transactions and alerts users about potential substitutions before funds are sent.