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Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: Crypto crime hit a new all-time high in 2021 with illicit addresses receiving $14bn amid an explosion of interest in digital assets.
Activity associated with illicit addresses jumped to new heights from a total of $7.8bn in 2020. Illicit addresses are defined as wallets tied to criminal activities such as ransomware, Ponzi schemes, and scams.
According to data from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, as new investors entered the crypto space in droves total transaction volumes jumped by 550% year on year reaching $15.8tn. Digital assets, from bitcoin to non-fungible tokens, exploded in popularity in 2021 amid an embrace from institutional investors and major companies.
Crypto received by digital wallet addresses linked to illicit activity including scams, darknet markets, and ransomware jumped 80% from a year earlier. Still, the activity represented just 0.15% of total crypto transaction volumes, its lowest ever.
For comparison, the illicit share of all cryptocurrency transaction volume was 3.37% in 2019, and 0.62% last year, with the overall translation volume spiking by 567% from 2020's totals, according to data from Chainalysis.
In its last crypto crime report, Chainalysis had said that 0.34% of 2020's crypto transactions were associated with illegal activity. That number has now been raised to 0.62%.
Crypto-related crime may be at an all-time high, but researchers note that the growth of legitimate cryptocurre...................... To view our full article Click here
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