A recent report from Chainanalysis, has shown that the value of illicit cryptocurrency transactions reached $20.1 billion in 2022.
The $18 billion recorded in 2021 had increased by 11.67%, according to the report, to this amount.
In spite of a market downturn, it was claimed, illegal transactions grew in popularity in the cryptocurrency industry.
It read,, “Despite the market downturn, illicit transaction volume rose for the second consecutive year, hitting an all-time high of $20.1bn.
“We have to stress that this is a lower bound estimate — our measure of illicit transaction volume is sure to grow over time as we identify new addresses associated with illicit activity, and we have to keep in mind that this figure doesn’t capture proceeds from non-crypto native crime (e.g. conventional drug trafficking involving cryptocurrency as a mode of payment).
“For example, last year we published that we found $14 billion in illicit activity in 2021 — we’ve now raised that figure to $18 billion, mostly due to the discovery of new crypto scams. It’s also worth keeping in mind that 44 per cent of 2022’s illicit transaction volume came from activity associated with sanctioned entities, in a year when OFAC launched some of its most ambitious and difficult-to-enforce crypto sanctions yet.”
In its 2023 Crypto Crime Report, the firm stated that transaction volumes fell across all of the other more conventional categories of cryptocurrency-related crime, with the exception of stolen funds, which rose 7 per cent year-over-year.
It added, “In general, less money in crypto overall tends to correlate with less money associated with crypto crime. Overall, the share of all cryptocurrency activity associated with illicit activity has risen for the first time since 2019, from 0.12 per cent in 2021 to 0.24 per cent in 2022.”
According to the company’s 2023 Crypto Crime Report, all other more traditional categories of cryptocurrency-related crime had a decline in transaction volumes, with the exception of stolen monies, which saw an increase of 7% year over year.
The blockchain analysis group went on to say that 2022 was the year that major cryptocurrency organizations including Celsius, Three Arrows Capital, and FTX disintegrated amid fraud claims.
The price of bitcoin dropped by 65.29 percent in 2022, according to a recent report from The PUNCH.
It states that the price of BTC decreased from $47,686.81 on January 1st, 2022, to $16,547.50 on December 31st, 2022, and that the market capitalization of BTC decreased by 64.69% from $902.10 billion at the beginning of 2022 to $318.52 billion at the end of 2022.
It added, “In general, less money in crypto overall tends to correlate with less money associated with crypto crime. Overall, the share of all cryptocurrency activity associated with illicit activity has risen for the first time since 2019, from 0.12 per cent in 2021 to 0.24 per cent in 2022.”