Illicit Crypto Addresses Received $14 Billion in 2021, Only 0.15% of Transaction Volume Associated With Crime – Regulation Bitcoin News

Chainalysis’ latest data shows that the cryptocurrency amount received from illicit addresses reached a record high of $14 Billion in 2021. Although it is more than twice as much as the $7.8billion that was set in 2020, this figure represents only 0.1% of all 2021 cryptocurrency transactions volume.

A falling percentage of the funds that were sent to illegal addresses

The value of cryptocurrency-related crimes recorded in 2021 surged to a new all-time high of $14 billion, a figure that is almost double the $7.8 billion which was received by so-called illicit addresses in the year 2020. The latest Chainalysis data shows that this rise in illicit funds transfers is much less than the average growth rate of crypto economies.

In a recent blog post breaking down the crypto economy’s 2021 transaction volume of $15.8 trillion, the blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis asserts that the growth in value of funds transferred to illicit addresses is not an indication that the space is now dominated by criminals. Perhaps this is a sign of the extent to which the crypto market has advanced in the past 12 months.

This blog article demonstrates the link between the growing adoption of cryptocurrency and the growth in crypto transactions volume at 567%. Chainalysis offers its perspective on growing disparity between legitimate and illicit volume.

In fact, with the growth of legitimate cryptocurrency usage far outpacing the growth of criminal usage, illicit activity’s share of cryptocurrency transaction volume has never been lower.

Crypto Crime Impedes Adoption

To support its position that illicit activity’s share of cryptocurrency transaction volume is on the wane, Chainalysis points to the data which shows that crime-related addresses only accounted for 0.15% of 2021 volumes. This is less than the 2020 figure of 0.62% and 2019’s figure of 3.37%.

Despite noting the low proportion of criminal crypto transfers relative to the overall transaction volumes, Chainalysis still concedes the “criminal abuse of cryptocurrency creates huge impediments for continued adoption.” The post argues that such abuse often “heightens the likelihood of restrictions being imposed by governments, and worst of all victimizes innocent people around the world.”

This blog also suggests that law enforcement agencies are improving their ability to combat cryptocurrency-based crime. It cites the indictment of several crypto investment scams by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as well as OFAC’s sanctioning of two Russia-based cryptocurrency platforms.

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Terence Zimwara

Terence Zimwara, a Zimbabwean journalist, writer and author who has been awarded the Zimbabwe Booker Prize. He is a prolific writer on the economic woes of African countries, as well as digital currencies that can be used to provide an escape path for Africans.