Illicit Transaction Activity Hit All-time High in Value in 2021: Chainalysis
The latest report suggests that cryptocurrency-based crime hit a new all-time high in 2021, with “illicit addresses receiving $14 billion over the year, up from $7.8 billion in 2020,” which amount was doubled to 2020, according to blockchain analytics platform Chainalysis.
Although the crypto crime hit a new all-time high last year, the increase in illicit transaction volume was just 79%, “nearly an order of magnitude lower than overall adoption,” according to the report. It indicates that the possibility of “ the growth of legitimate cryptocurrency usage far outpacing the growth of criminal usage,” as “illicit activity’s share of cryptocurrency transaction volume has reached an All-Time-Low.”
The report was also divided into year-end criminal balances over the last five years, further broken down by the types of illicit activity from which the funds were derived.
Although law enforcement saw a growth in its ability to seize cryptocurrency from criminals in 2021, according to a report by blockchain analytics platform Chainalysis, there was an exceptional rise in criminal balances in 2021. By the end of the year, criminals held $11 billion worth of funds with known illicit sources, compared to just $3 billion at the end of 2020.
Among various kinds of criminal balances, stolen funds were the most dominant by the end of the year, with 93% at $9.8 billion.
Criminal balances fluctuated throughout the year, from a low of $6.6 billion in July to a high of $14.8 billion in October.
Criminal balances refer to any funds currently held by addresses. Chainalysis has been attributed to illicit actors, the report stated, adding that these addresses can belong to criminal services, like darknet markets, but in some cases can also be
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