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Crypto crime drops significantly in 2023, but it’s not all good news
Crypto crime has dropped by 65% through the end of June this year, as compared to the same period in 2022. However, the same cannot be said about ransomware attacks.
- The finding was a part of a recent Chainalysis crypto crime report.
- Interestingly, ransomware attacks have grown at a striking pace in the crypto market.
Crypto-related crimes have dropped by 65% through the end of June 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022. The finding was a part of a cryptocurrency crime report published by the blockchain data firm Chainalysis on 12 July.
2/ Through the end of June, crypto inflows to known illicit entities are down 65% compared to where they were at the same time in 2022. pic.twitter.com/PhKFrrWBkQ
— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) July 12, 2023
The report links this fall in crypto crimes mostly to a significant decline in crypto scams and dark web market activity.
4/ Inflows to illicit addresses are down in nearly every category, but no form of crypto crime has
suffered more than scams. Through June, crypto scammers have taken in nearly $3.3 billion less in 2023 than they did in 2022, for a total of just over $1.0 billion on the year. pic.twitter.com/Bq4L1tMdM6— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) July 12, 2023
Through June, crypto criminals have made around $3.3 billion less in 2023 than they made in 2022, for a total of a little over $1.0 billion on the year. In short, crypto scammers have made 77% less revenue than they did in June 2022.
The report also mentioned that inflows to “risky entities” such as high-risk exchanges and mixers have also declined by 42%. Crypto hackers frequently use these tools to launder stolen assets.
Chainalysis wrote,
“Usually, positive price movements translate to higher scam revenue, likely because increased market exuberance and FOMO make victims more susceptible to scammers’ pitches. But 2023’s drastic scam decline bucks that long-standing trend.”
The price of Bitcoin [BTC] has increased by 80% since the beginning of the year. At press time, it was trading at $30,300.
According to the report, this dip in revenue earned by crypto criminals is largely driven by the near non-existence of two major investment-type scams, VidiLook and Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Financial Management. Both the schemes appear to have exit scammed.
But another beast rises…
However, a major issue related to crypto attacks continues to persist.
Ransomware attacks are growing at a striking pace in the crypto market even as other types of crypto crimes have declined. This year, ransomware attacks have led to a loss of at least $449 million through June.
5/ However, ransomware is up significantly. In fact, ransomware attackers are on pace for their second-biggest year ever, having extorted at least $449.1 million through June. pic.twitter.com/e3eCuXXwWN
— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) July 12, 2023
In 2022, the Russia-Ukraine war was likely to have contributed to the fall in ransomware attacks. The war displaced many of the organizations from the region which executed such attacks.
The report predicts that ransomware attackers could steal around $898.6 million by the end of this year if such attacks continue at the current rate.
This surge in ransomware attacks was largely due to “big game hunting.” It refers to ransomware attacks against huge entities with huge financial resources.
