Chainalysis published recently a study about criminal enterprises. It focused on the criminal whales that hold large sums in cryptocurrency.
According to the study, criminal whales are believed to still have $25 billion worth of crypto assets in spite of substantial law enforcement seizure last year.
The year 2021 was a good one for cryptocurrency, with a total value exceeding $3 trillion. In November bitcoin also reached a record high, before plummeting to more than 40%.
The biggest beneficiaries of rising bitcoin prices were the criminals who took it. Since last year, the number linked to illicit operations has more than quadrupled.
With $448 million of illegal cryptocurrency, the Dark Web is second. With $192 million in scams, Fraud Shops is fourth, with $66 millions, while Ransomware ranks last with $30 million.
Criminal Whales Take Big Breathing
According to the report, last year saw “a huge increase in criminal balances,” with criminal whales holding around $11 billion in 2021 compared to $3 billion in 2020.
Furthermore, the funds represent the lion’s share of crypto held by unscrupulous entities out of stolen funds, Ransomware, fraud and illegal trading.
Recent statistics show that 93% percent of criminal balances were based on stolen funds. More than 10% have been obtained by criminal whales through illicit addresses. They are responsible for 3.7% percent of all cryptocurrency whales.
Chainalysis, a well-known blockchain surveillance company, publishes regular blockchain analytics research.
The daily market capitalization of crypto assets is $1.711 trillion | Source: TradingView.com
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Illegal Crypto-Related Activities
With wallets that contain over $1,000,000 in cryptocurrency, whales are among the most prolific hodlers.
According to CrowdStrike’s 2022 Global Threat Report, Iranian hackers were among the top contributors of ransomware activities worldwide through 2021.
526% of all illegal transactions in theft were reported to have been made. DeFi is now a major concern.
“Criminal balances also fluctuated throughout the year, from a low of $6.6 billion in July to a high of $14.8 billion in October,” Chainalysis disclosed.
The term “Hodling” is used to refer to people who have large amounts of cryptocurrency but don’t intend on selling it in order make a profit.
The Brighter Side
FSInsight, however, predicted Bitcoin’s second half of 2022 at $200,000, and sent a memo to investors.
According to FSInsight Ethereum could reach $12,000 in price this year. This would be a 385% increase over where it trades now.
The analysis shows that cryptocurrencies are increasingly tied to informationtech stocks. Sean Farrell, head of digital asset strategy, said this is due to “legacy market money joining the fold.”
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Featured image by Nairametrics. Chart courtesy of TradingView.com
