Money laundering using crypto assets generally decreased compared to last year. However, criminals are starting to change their ways, according to a report published on February 15 by crypto analytics company Chainalysis.
Illegal addresses sent $22.2 billion worth of crypto in 2023, down 29.5% from 2022, according to the report. While the overall decline in crypto transaction volumes may have contributed to the decline, the decline in money laundering activity was steeper, analysts said.
The report also found that more illegal actors are sending stolen funds to blockchain bridges, which are services that allow users to transfer crypto between different chains.
Additionally, there was also a “substantial increase in funds sent from ransomware to gambling platforms,” the report added.
“Overall, it is possible that crypto criminals are diversifying their money laundering activities across more nested services or deposit addresses to hide it from law enforcement and exchange compliance teams,” the analysts wrote.
“Spreading activity across more addresses may also be a strategy to reduce the impact of freezing certain deposit addresses due to suspicious activity,” the report continued.
It seems the latest sanctions against crypto mixing services are working,Chainalysisfound, noting a decrease in funds sent to mixers from illegal addresses last year, from $1.0 billion in 2022 to $504.3 million in 2023.
However, there are also problems with new services emerging to replace the blacklisted ones, the analysts added. Also read: North Korea Still a Threat to Crypto: Chainalysis
“Sinbad became the mixer of choice for North Korean-affiliated hackers in 2022, soon after sanctions against Tornado Cash, previously a favorite haunt for these sophisticated cybercriminals,” the report said.
With Sinbad out of the game, Bitcoin-based mixer YoMix has acted as a replacement.
Chainalysis' latest report comes after the US Treasury Department published its 2024 National Risk Report, which stated that although the use of crypto in illicit financing is increasing, fiat remains the most popular choice for those looking to hide funds.
The House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday also discussed how digital assets are being used to fund terrorists, with Brian Nelson, deputy secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, repeating that “traditional products and services” are still the “preference” of terrorists.
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DISCLAIMER: This article is informational in nature and is not an offer or invitation to sell or buy any crypto assets. Trading crypto assets is a high-risk activity. Crypto asset prices are volatile, where prices can change significantly from time to time and Bittime is not responsible for changes in fluctuations in crypto asset exchange rates.
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