Money Laundering of Crypto Assets Reaches $8.6 Billion in 2021
Cyber criminals have been busy over the last year. Crypto-related money laundering activities have surged in 2021 compared to 2020. In 2021 fraudulent money laundering of crypto9currencies was worth more than $8.6 billion, which is 30% higher than the number gathered in 2020- $6.6 billion.
Chainalysis has reported that cyber criminals have laundered some $33 billion worth of cryptos since 2017. In 2021 alone, money laundering of digital assets accounts for just 0.05% of all crypto-related global transactions, which in perspective isn't that much.
In comparison, the UN Office of Drugs and Crime has released a report in which it has estimated that between $800 billion and $2 trillion of fiats are laundered each year. This is equal to 5% of the global GDP.
Decentralized Finance or DeFi has had a progressively active role in crypto money laundering. Chainalysis' report claims that DeFi protocols have received nearly 17 percent of all funds from illegal wallets. This was last year. In 2020 this number was just 2%.
In the last 12 months, crypto-related crimes have drastically increased, however so have the effortс to curb these trends. Last year, millions of dollars were returned to their rightful owners.
What the future holds for scams is uncertain, yet many experts claim that the rise of CBDC will cause many issues to governments as these CBDC ecosystems will be the perfect target for scammers worldwide.