According to Chainalysis, more than $20 billion was illegally traded using cryptocurrencies last year.
Blockchain analytics firms help law enforcement, government agencies, and other entities track cryptocurrency transactions for compliance, law enforcement, and other goals.
It claims that there was more illicit money flowing through blockchain last year than in any other year. The 2021 figure was $18 billion.
However, the majority (44%) of this funding went to sanctioned entities, notably the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex, which was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in April 2022. was associated.
At the beginning of its most recent annual report, Chainalysis said, “Any transaction involving Galantex or any other licensed cryptographic service could, at a minimum, expose companies under U.S. jurisdiction to penalties, including fines and potential criminal liability. represents a substantial compliance risk to
In fact, with the exception of “stolen funds”, which increased by 7%, transaction volumes for all other categories of cryptocrime fell.
“The market slowdown may be one of the reasons,” the company added.
“Cryptocurrency scams, for example, have historically been found to yield less in bear markets. This is probably because users become more pessimistic and avoid the higher returns promised by scams when asset prices are falling. Because it makes them less likely to believe.In general, lower amounts in overall cryptocurrency tend to correlate with lower amounts associated with cryptocurrency crime.”
That said, the overall share of cryptocurrency activity related to illicit activity rose slightly for the first time since 2019, from 0.12% of total volume in 2021 to 0.24% in 2022.
However, Chainalysis did not include “off-chain” criminal activity in its report – drug trafficking and other criminal proceeds are laundered. It may have been encrypted for
The company also warned that its estimated $20.1 billion in 2022 is likely to increase over time as it identifies new addresses.
