Despite being a landmark year for institutional adoption, 2024 witnessed a troubling rise in crypto crime. A report by blockchain security firm Chainalysis reveals that approximately $40 billion was received by illicit addresses within the year.
This figure, which is expected to rise as more details regarding historical crimes become available, is primarily attributed to scams, malware, fraud, and activities on the dark web.
For context, the reported figure for 2023 reached $46.1 billion, yet Chainalysis anticipates that 2024’s total will surpass this figure, projecting a grim total of $51.3 billion once all crime is accounted for.
It is important to note that this total does not include revenue from non-crypto native crimes such as drug trafficking or money laundering, where cryptocurrencies are merely used as a means of payment.
The approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in 2024 contributed to a surge in institutional trading volumes, which in turn affected the ratio of crypto crime relative to total industry activity. In this climate, illicit transactions now account for just 0.14% of all crypto transactions, a decrease from 0.61% in 2023.
Another significant development has been the evolving behavior of criminals regarding the channels they use for sending illicit funds. In 2021, approximately 70% of all illicit transactions were conducted using Bitcoin (BTC). Today, this trend has reversed; Bitcoin now accounts for only about 20% of all illicit transactions, while stablecoins have taken the lead, representing a staggering 63% of illicit activity.
Additionally, privacy coins like Monero (XMR) continue to play a crucial role, particularly on dark web marketplaces, with altcoins making up around 10% of the total illicit transactions.
Looking ahead, it is important to consider that 2025’s figures may be somewhat skewed, especially with the inclusion of Ethereum (ETH) due to February’s $1.5 billion hack on Bybit, which marks the largest single crypto theft recorded to date.
