Analyst firm Chainalysis reported that as of the end of 2021, $11 billion worth of crypto assets are stored in wallets associated with illegal activities.
According to a report by Chainalysis, at the end of 2021, stolen cryptoassets accounted for 93% of all funds held in criminal wallets, and their total value reached $9.8 billion. Darknet markets follow at $448 million, scams at $192 million, fraudulent websites at $66 million, and as well as cryptojacking – $30 million. Thus, the total value of funds in the wallets of attackers was $11 billion. For comparison, in 2020 this amount was $3 billion.
The researchers warn that law enforcement agencies need to promptly confiscate stolen funds, as the time of storage of cryptocurrencies in the wallets of criminals has decreased by 75% compared to 2020 and now averages 65 days.
The authors of the report noted that the availability of data, including the ability to trace wallets, has made it much easier to bring criminals to justice. According to the researchers, identifying the “whales” of the underworld will allow government agencies to continue the series of successful arrests and bring to justice the largest beneficiaries of crimes related to cryptocurrency.
Chainalysis previously reported that fraudsters made about $602 million using ransomware in 2021. In addition, according to the analytics company, the use of NFT for illegal activities has increased in recent months, although the volumes remain relatively small. In January, Chainalysis released a report stating that over the past year, criminals have laundered $8.6 billion in illegally obtained funds using cryptocurrencies.
Source: Bits
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