Chainalysis report reveals $8.6 billion in crypto laundered in 2021, more than 2020

ambcrypto.com:

Crypto crime can be a controversial subject, as the often unregulated nature of the asset makes it easy to accuse investors and entrepreneurs of money laundering – while missing out on real scammers and criminals.

That said, Chainalysis’ new report shines a light on crypto crime trends in 2021, revealing a number of surprises.

To make a long story short – these are formidable numbers. However, there is plenty of nuance to note as well.

Here’s what you need to know. $8.6 billion in crypto was laundered in 2021. While this is much higher than the $6.6 billion in crypto laundered in 2020, it is a definite fall from 2019’s grand total of $10.9 billion.

Next, a particularly curious investor might wonder which crypto was the most popular with illicit actors. Spoiler alert: not Bitcoin. Chainalysis reported,

“The 20 biggest money laundering deposit addresses receive just 19% of all Bitcoin sent from illicit addresses, compared to 57% for stablecoins, 63% for Ethereum, and 68% for altcoins.”

After this, we need to look at whether crypto launderers favor CeFi or DeF. While the report noted that centralized exchanges were the preferred location to move laundered funds, DeFi protocols have been growing in popularity.

The report observed,

“DeFi protocols received 17% of all funds sent from illicit wallets in 2021, up from 2% the previous year. That translates to a 1,964% year-over-year increase in total value received by DeFi protocols from illicit addresses, reaching a total of $900 million in 2021.”

The analytics portal also recorded how huge amounts of crypto were sent to a “shockingly small” number of criminals. But putting things into perspective, Chainalysis reminded readers that crypto laundering made up only 0.05% of all crypto