The coming year is likely to see crypto related crime reduce to an ever smaller share of the overall industry as law enforcement takes greater advantage of the transparency provided by blockchain technology, says Kim Grauer, Director of Research at Chainalysis.
According to a January 6 report from Chainalysis, the growth of legitimate cryptocurrency usage is “far outpacing the growth of criminal usage.” The share of cryptocurrency transaction volume associated with illicit activity has never been lower, representing just 0.15% of transaction volume in 2021.
She told Cointelegraph that barring any “outlier criminal events,” she expected that the growth of legitimate crypto usage over illegitimate usage would continue to accelerate through 2022.
She said that things are looking hopeful in the space as “the illicit share of transaction volume continues to fall” and “the narrative that crypto is primarily a means for criminals to transact is finally being put to bed.”
“Law enforcement wins continue to demonstrate to bad actors that cryptocurrency’s inherent transparency makes it an undesirable means for transferring illicit funds. Cash is still king when it comes to illicit finance, and that is not likely to change.”
During 2021, rug pulls became crypto-criminals’ scam of choice. Scamming revenue rose 82% in 2021 to $7.8 billion, with over $2.8 billion of this total coming from rug pulls alone.
However, Grauer said that this doesn’t necessarily indicate…
