HOME CATEGORIES WRITE AND EARN 🔍
CATEGORIES WRITE AND EARN MORE

CRYPTO NEWS

Your favorite crypto news blog

Criminal Activity Related To Crypto Transactions Fell by 83% in 2020 – New Chainalysis Report

Crypto 2021/01/20 10:53 by Bernice Nyambura
Criminal Activity Related To Crypto Transactions Fell by 83% in 2020 -New Chainalysis Report

2020 was a good year for the crypto market, especially the second half of the year despite the pandemic. Bitcoin and other digital assets recovered from the spectacular crash on Black Thursday to set new records and usher in a new era of institutional investments in the crypto market.

Between the March 12 crash of $4,860 and the current ATH of $41,941, bitcoin has recorded over 100% in gains according to data by CoinMarketCap. But despite carrying on this impressive performance into 2021, the crypto market has remained appealing to criminals primarily due to its support for borderless anonymous transactions.  

However, a new report by leading on-chain analysis platform Chainalysis shows that compared to 2019, crypto-related activity fell significantly in 2020 partly due to the transparent and traceable nature of crypto transactions.

Chainalysis statistics compare the total crypto value sent and received by criminal entities versus the criminal share of all crypto activity from 2017 to 2020. The data shows that in 2019, 2.1% of total crypto transaction volume worth $2.1 billion was linked to criminal activity. In 2020, the amount fell to $10 billion representing 0.34% of total crypto transactions volume.

“One reason the percentage of criminal activity fell is because overall economic activity nearly tripled between 2019 and 2020.”

Ransomware Crypto-Crimes Dominated In 2020

Crypto Scams like the infamous PlusToken Ponzi scheme accounted for 54% worth $2.4 billion of crypto-related crime in 2019. However, in 2020, such crypto scams reduced significantly and were replaced by darknet markets which rose to $1.7 billion from $1.3 billion in 2019 but ransomware attacks on individuals and organizations overshadowed the market. 

“The big story for cryptocurrency-based crime in 2020 is ransomware.”

Chainalysis stated that ransomware crimes increased by 311% from 2019 despite representing only 7% ($350 million) of all funds received by addresses linked to criminal activity. In 2020 alone ZyCrypto reported over 10 instances of collective ransomware victims around the world.

“No other category of cryptocurrency-based crime rose so dramatically in 2020, as COVID-prompted work from home measures opened up new vulnerabilities for many organizations.”

The data also indicates that the figure could be higher due to underreporting by some of the targeted victims and the figures may rise especially after more addresses are identified from ongoing investigations of new and suspected addresses in the last months of 2020.

The report concludes that ransomware attacks are the most destructive type of crypto-crimes due to their economic impact and ability to disrupt critical industries and services, and risking private or sensitive information.

“When we consider the total economic losses not just from payments, but from businesses and governments being taken offline in attacks, some experts estimate that ransomware cost $20 billion in economic losses in 2020.”

0 Like(s)



You should also read...

Crypto 07/12/19 19:43 by Jamie Redman
While Markets Move Sideways, Crypto Whale Sightings Increase
While cryptocurrency markets have been moving sideways during the last few weeks, digital currency proponents have been observing large bitcoin whale movements. Transactions with tens of thousands of ...
Read More
Bitcoin 11/06/20 20:15 by Adrian Klent
Bitcoin Whales Are On Billion-Dollar Moves — Here’s What You Should Know
As spotted on the blockchain, a Bitcoin whale recently moved $1.3 billion worth of Bitcoin amid market volatility in the early hours of today (Thursday, June 11). Three wallet addresses were seen to ...
Read More
Other 24/07/20 20:50 by Ali Martinez
Maker (MKR) Network Activity Explodes While Prices Face Stiff Resistance Ahead
In a recent blog post, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume Binance revealed that it was going to list Maker on its retail trading platform. Since July 23, users are able to...
Read More
Other 13/01/21 16:48 by Livine Sanchez
Transaction Fees Have Skyrocketed: Here’s How to Save Money
With cryptocurrency asset prices soaring left, right, and center, and trading volumes for most major cryptocurrencies reaching record highs, there’s little doubt that the industry is experiencing o...
Read More
Bitcoin 14/06/21 18:39 by owiebest
Why Bitcoin Is Actually “Bad For Crime” Contrary To Belief
Bitwise Management CEO Hunter Horsley was on Yahoo Finance Live to talk about why Bitcoin is bad for crime. The technology which Bitcoin runs on, Blockchain, basically has a public ledger. Transaction...
Read More