Crypto Money Laundering Dropped Almost 30% in 2023: Chainalysis
Crypto money laundering saw a major decrease of nearly 30% in 2023, Chainalysis’ newly released 2024 Crypto Crime Report revealed.
The report also stated that total funds sent between illicit addresses dropped by 14.9% as well.
According to Chainalysis, the shrinking numbers can be attributed to an overall reduction in total cryptocurrency transaction volume as well as efforts by bad actors to conceal illicit activity.
Our latest Crypto Crime preview is out now! This time, we’re covering the latest trend in crypto money laundering. https://t.co/JgToScujjr
— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) February 15, 2024
Additionally, despite the general decrease in the role of illicit services, the number of illicit funds going to DeFi protocols has increased.
“We attribute this primarily to the overall growth of DeFi generally during the time period, but must also note that DeFi’s inherent transparency generally makes it a poor choice for obfuscating the movement of funds,” the report stated.
Chainalysis’ Crypto Crime Report further highlighted that funds sent to mixers from illicit addresses decreased by nearly half a billion dollars last year “likely due to law enforcement and regulatory efforts.”
The blockchain data firms’ latest statistics follow the November 2023 sanctioning of Sinbad, a crypto mixer utilized by North Korean state-sponsored hacking group Lazarus Group, by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The report notes that YoMix has taken over Sinbad’s role in supporting North Korea-affiliated hackers, with the crypto mixer experiencing “inflows growing by more than 5x” throughout 2023.
Correspondingly, the report found that “money laundering actually became less concentrated at the deposit address
