Chainalysis has released its new report on crypto crimes “Money Laundering and Cryptocurrency Report”, to delve into the latest trends and data related to money laundering.
Crypto Crimes and the Chainalysis report on money laundering
Chainalysis has released a new report on crypto crimes: “Money Laundering and Cryptocurrency Report”. The idea is to delve into the latest trends and data related to money laundering with cryptocurrencies.
Our Money Laundering report reveals how bad actors now use crypto to launder funds from off-chain crimes — not just crypto-native crimes like ransomware. We explore advanced tracing techniques and how blockchain data is leading the fight against fincrime.https://t.co/32ApuphHpU
— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) July 11, 2024
“Our report on money laundering reveals how bad actors now use cryptocurrency to launder funds from off-chain crimes, not just from native cryptocurrency crimes like ransomware. We explore advanced tracking techniques and how blockchain data is driving the fight against financial crime.”
First and foremost, the report signed by Chainalysis aims to describe how money laundering based on cryptocurrencies derives not only from on-chain crimes, but also from other illicit off-chain activities.
Basically, therefore, it is possible to expand the scope of investigation by leveraging the transparency of the blockchain in order to dismantle crypto crimes on the chain and beyond.
In any case, Chainalysis indicates which are the most used forms for money laundering in the world of cryptocurrencies.
And so, the trends related to money laundering see that about 80% of illicit funds pass through intermediary wallets.
Not only that, the report also lists other forms more commonly used by money launderers such as mixer, privacy coins, and cross-chain bridge protocols.
Crypto Crimes: money laundering trends analyzed by Chainalysis
Moving forward with the report, then, Chainalysis explains that most criminals try to convert their crypto funds into fiat currency.
An important tool for describing trends related to money laundering is also the identification of the destination of the funds. In this sense, over 50% of illicit funds end up in centralized crypto-exchanges (CEX), directly or indirectly after the use of obfuscation techniques.
Exiting instead from the chain, instead, money laundering is identified based on traditional off-chain criminal activities such as drug trafficking and fraud. In this regard, the report states that in the crypto sector, fiat currency laundering models can also be repeated as the same strategies are repeated.
After these highlights and more, the report signed by Chainalysis concludes with an overview of the regulations and global strategies to combat money laundering.
The data of 2023
Last February, the report by Chainalysis on crypto crime was published, with data related to 2023.
And speaking of money laundering, from what had emerged, it seems that in 2023 criminals laundered 22.3 billion dollars, almost 30% less than in 2022.
This decrease has been interpreted by the blockchain analysis platform as a possible general decrease in the volume of crypto transactions, both legitimate and illicit.
Here too, Chainlysis had stated that CEX remain the main destination for funds sent from illicit addresses, with 62%. However, the platform also stated that the share of illicit funds destined for DeFi protocols rose in 2023 to 13%.