A new report by Chainalysis reveals the statistics of financial crimes committed through the use of cryptocurrencies: trends and techniques used.
On July 11, the blockchain analysis company Chainalysis published a new report titled “Money Laundering and Cryptocurrency Report”, which examines the latest trends and data related to money laundering through cryptocurrencies.
The report highlights that money laundering through cryptocurrencies stems not only from crimes occurring within the world of digital assets, such as ransomware, but also from illicit activities outside the sector, such as drug trafficking.
The report analyzes the most commonly used methods for money laundering with cryptocurrencies: about 80% of funds from illicit activities pass through intermediary wallets. Other common methods include the use of mixers, privacy coins, and cross-chain bridge protocols.
The majority of criminals seek to convert their funds into fiat currency: over 50% of illicit funds end up on centralized exchanges, directly or indirectly, after using obfuscation techniques. Chainalysis states that similar money laundering schemes observed with fiat currency are also seen in the cryptocurrency sector.
Comparison with 2022
In 2023, criminals laundered $22.3 billion through cryptocurrencies, a decrease of 30% compared to 2022. According to Chainalysis, this reduction might be due to a general decline in cryptocurrency transaction volumes, both legitimate and illicit.
Despite the potential decrease in volumes, centralized exchanges remain the primary recipients of funds from illicit activities. However, there has been an increase in the share of illicit funds directed to DeFi protocols.
