Cryptocurrency crime declines in 2023 for Chainalysis

2023year of recovery for crypto-currencies after the chaos from 2022. This good news is accompanied by a significant decline of the crimemeasure Chainalysis. Only exception the ransomware with a prediction of 900 million dollars extorted.

It’s not all doom and gloom in space crypto at 2023. This is particularly true of cybercrime involving digital assets. According to Chainalysis’ half-yearly barometer, the crime in this sector recorded a significant decline this year.

However, with the recovery in cryptocurrency prices, including that of Bitcoin (+80% YTD), cybercriminals and users of illicit services could redouble their interest. However flows to illicit entities down 65% year-on-year.

Illicit transactions down sharply

Similarly, flows to entities at risk (mainly mixers and high-risk stock exchanges) are being down 42. Chainalysis points out, however, that the decline in crypto transactions is a global phenomenon. Illicit flows are the first to be impacted, while the drop in legitimate services is smaller (-28%).

In other words, the market has shrunk, but the volume of illicit crypto transactions is falling much more than the volume of legitimate crypto transactions,” the report analyzes.

As a result, flows to illicit addresses are down in almost every category. The hardest hit is scams. So far, scammers have taken in almost $3.3 billion less than in 2022.

Two major scams disappear

The scams remain “still the most lucrative form of crypto-currency-based crime”, despite a 77% drop in revenue. It should be noted that the trend was already down the previous year.

However, this year’s drop is perhaps more remarkable because it comes at a time when crypto asset prices are on the rise. Usually, positive price movements translate into increased revenue from scams,” comments Chainalysis.

This development, the blockchain firm explains mainly by the sudden disappearance of two large-scale scams: VidiLook and, to a lesser extent, Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Financial Management.

Both scams follow the typical investment scam model of offering exceptional returns on any crypto-currency ‘invested’ by users,” the report states.

Ransomware on course for a record year

Scams may be on the decline, but one threat stands out by developing against the tide: ransomware. ransomware. “It’s even the only form of crime based on crypto-currencies set to grow in 2023″. Compared with 2022, attackers’ earnings will increase by $175.8 million.

“This year-on-year growth probably signifies the reversal of the positive downward trend in ransomware observed in 2022,” warns Chainalysis, which has yet to clarify the reasons for these fluctuations in 2022 and 2023.

Ransomware purveyors well on the way to achieving “the second-biggest year in their history “. By the end of June, they had raised a minimum of $449.1 million.

If this pace continues, ransomware authors will extort $898.6 million from victims in 2023, behind 2021’s $939.9 million″, Chainalysis predicts.

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