Crypto crime was rife in 2024 despite it being a landmark year for institutional adoption. A report by blockchain security firm Chainalysis reveals that $40 billion was received by illicit addresses.
The $40 billion is an estimate that will rise throughout 2025 as more details around historical crimes emerge. The illicit crypto in question can be attributed to scams, malware, fraud or dark net activities.
2023’s figure ended at $46.1 billion, although Chainalysis expects 2024’s total to exceed that when all crime is accounted for with an estimated total of $51.3 billion.
The total also excludes revenue from non-crypto native crime such as drug trafficking or money laundering, where crypto is used as a means of payment, the report added.
The approval of spot bitcoin ETFs in 2024 prompted a wave of institutional volume, this brings down the ratio of crypto crime volume to industry-wide volume, with illicit transactions accounting for…
