Cryptocurrency-related crimes dropped "significantly" in 2020, an analytical blockchain-focused firm Chainalysis has learned. In a recent report, the firm says last year the criminal share of all criminal crypto activity fell to 0.34% ($10 billion), while in 2019 this rate was 2.1% (approximately $21.4 billion).
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Chainalysis believes crypto crimes declined as economic activity tripled between 2019 and 2020.
Thorough 2020, the majority of crypto-focused crimes was based on scams (roughly $2.6 billion worth of crypto stolen). The rest majority of the criminal activity occurred on darknet markets ($1.7 billion). Despite the dominance of scams and darknet, ransomware turned out to be "the big story" in 2020, Chainalysis highlights.
"That may sound counterintuitive, as ransomware accounted for just 7% of all funds received by criminal addresses at just under $350 million worth of cryptocurrency. But that figure represents a 311% increase over 2019," the firm pointed out.
Chainalysis notes no other category of crypto crime surged so massively over 2020. Previously, iHodl reported that Chainalysis found that several members of the alt-right movement have received a total of 28.15 BTC (over $1 million at the current price).
The firm says the bitcoin donor sent the cryptocurrency to 22 separate addresses — associated with far-right activists and internet personalities — in a single transaction.
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