Chainalysis: $14B in Cryptocurrency Value Went to Illicit Addresses in 2021

A report by blockchain analytics company Chainalysis says the total cryptocurrency value received by illicit addresses reached $14 billion in 2021, up 79 percent from $7.8 billion the previous year.

Transactions involving illicit addresses accounted for 0.15 percent of all crypto transaction volume in 2021 compared with 0.62 percent in 2020, according to a blog post published Thursday.

Scammers stole $7.8 billion worth of cryptocurrency from victims in 2021, showing an increase of 82 percent from the previous year. Of the total value, over $2.8 billion came from rug pulls, a type of scam in decentralized finance where developers of a cryptocurrency project bring the value of a token to zero by taking users’ funds from the liquidity pool and abandoning the token.

Cryptocurrency theft rose 516 percent to approximately $3.2 billion worth of crypto in 2021, with about $2.2 billion of the total value stolen from DeFi protocols.

The use of DeFi protocols in money laundering activities grew 1,964 percent in 2021, according to a preview of Chainalysis’ 2022 Crypto Crime Report.

POC - Digital Currency and National Security Forum

Chainalysis will sponsor the Potomac Officers Club’s Digital Currency and National Security Forum on Jan. 27. The virtual event will feature National Cyber Director Chris Inglis as the opening keynote speaker and will include a fireside chat session with Juan Zarate, global co-managing partner and chief strategy officer at K2 Integrity, and MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor.

Join the forum to hear from these distinguished government and industry leaders as they explore the future of virtual currencies. Register now through the Potomac Officers Club Events page.

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