Blockchain analysis tools and appropriate training can help exchanges, law enforcement, and other stakeholders recover victim funds, says Gurvais Grigg.
As global adoption of cryptocurrency continues to rise and new use cases in Web3 emerge, it is clear that cryptocurrency is well on the path to mainstream adoption. It is also no surprise that more cybercriminals are using cryptocurrency.
The fact that the increase in crime was just 79% — nearly an order of magnitude lower than overall adoption — might be the biggest surprise of all. Although cryptocurrency-based crime hit a new all-time high in 2021, with illicit addresses receiving USD 14 billion over the course of the year, these transactions involving illicit addresses represented an all-time low in terms of share of total volume at just 0.15%.
Though increased law enforcement successes in tracing crime are one of the main drivers of declining illicit activity, there’s a common misconception that tackling cryptocurrency-based crime is solely in the domain of large national-level law enforcement agencies or elite cybercrime units.
International law enforcement agencies have used Chainalysis data and software on various high-profile cases such as the takedown of a global child abuse site, seizing billions of dollars connected to the darknet market Silk Road, and investigations into North Korean hackers and terrorism rings. But local agencies can take immediate action when equipped with the right tools and…
