Criminal Activity in Crypto Transactions Fell Sharply in 2020, Says Chainalysis

A study by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis finds that cryptocurrency-related crime has fallen significantly. The criminal share of all crypto activity fell to just 0.34% in 2020. This contradicts recent statements by U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen and ECB President Christine Lagarde that cryptocurrencies are mostly used for illicit financing. Crypto Crime Plummeted in 2020 Chainalysis shared some findings from its 2021 Crypto Crime Report this week. While acknowledging that “cryptocurrency remains appealing for criminals as well due primarily to its pseudonymous....

Criminal activity has always been linked with crypto by governments and individuals who would rather see the assets banned. Despite widespread beliefs that only criminals use crypto, it is still significantly less than the criminal activity related to fiat currencies, with sources saying only about 1% of cryptocurrencies are used by criminals. Nevertheless, this does […]

The proceeds of crypto crime fell by more than $5 billion in 2020, due to increasing regulatory compliance by crypto exchanges and declining scams. Revenue from crypto-related crime dropped by more than half in 2020 according to Chainalysis’ annual report on the subject.Cybercriminals netted around $5 billion less than the $10 billion plus they got away with in 2019, representing a 53% fall. Transactions involving illicit funds have decreased even more rapidly than the total volume of those funds, falling from 2.1% of all transactions analyzed in 2019 down to just 0.34% last year. Among....

The report defines criminal whales as private wallets that hold more than $1 million worth of crypto with more than 10% of their balances coming from illicit addresses. Chainalysis data shows that 4068 criminal whales (roughly 4% of all whales) are hodling more than $25 billion worth of cryptocurrency between them. The blockchain analytics firm defines criminal whales as any private wallet that holds more than $1 million worth of crypto with over 10% of the funds received from illicit addresses tied to activity such as scams, fraud and malware. The data is from the “Criminal Balances”....

According to research published by Chainalysis, criminal entities hold more than $25 billion in cryptocurrencies. The blockchain intelligence firm’s study shows that there was a significant increase in crypto balances held by criminals in 2021 as the metric jumped by 266% since the year before. Chainalysis Studies Crypto Whales Holding Balances Tied to Illicit Addresses The blockchain surveillance company Chainalysis published a study that indicates $25 billion in digital assets is currently held by criminals. Despite the significant law enforcement seizures last year,....