Blockchain in custody. Chainalysisa company specializing in on-chain analysis, is well known as the guardian of our ecosystem and an expert in on-chain investigation. It recently released a report detailing the crime situation in the first half of 2023. Here are the 8 key facts to remember.
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Crypto crime declining according to Chainalysis
1 – Decrease in cryptocurrency-related crime
While 2022 was the year of the hacksthe situation is different for 2023. Indeed, flows to known illegal entities have decreased by 65 % compared with the corresponding period in 2022.
Thus, and as visible in the graph below, Chainalysis concludes that cryptocurrency-related crime has fallen sharply this first half of the year.
2 – Illicit transaction volumes are declining
Chainalysis also notes that flows to risky entities, such as cryptocurrency blenders (mixers) like Tornado Cashdecreased by 42%. As a result, illicit transaction volumes are falling faster than legitimate ones.
3 – Crypto scams on the decline
It would seem that, since the implosion of FTX and Celsius and the crisis of confidence in 2022crypto scams are on the decline, which is a real scourge for our ecosystem. In 2022, scammers obtained $3.3 billion more than during the same period in 2023.
4 – Ransonware: a trend on the darknet
The ransomware is malware used by criminals to encrypt files on a computer system and demand a ransom in order to decrypt them. It experienced significant growth in 2023, with an increase of 175.8 million compared with the same period in 2022.
5 – Ransonware, the new boon for hackers
According to Chainalysis, if this trend continues, ransomware attacks will extort almost $900 million from their victims in 2022, slightly less than the $940 million in 2021.
6 – Ransomware doesn’t discriminate
Ransomware targets small and large businesses and organizations. After a decline in 2022, the graph below shows that they have increased in the first half of 2023.
7 – Identity theft drops
Beyond hackers, cryptographic crime also includes frauds and scams. Chainalysis thus notes that identity theft frauds, where fraudsters impersonate law enforcement officers or other authority figures in order to extort funds from victims, saw a 23% drop in 2023, compared with a 77% drop for other frauds.
8 – Falling revenues for crypto crime
So, the combination of this data and the end of two major scams, namely VidiLook and Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Financial Management, has led to a sharp drop in scam-related revenues.
The reasons for the decline in blockchain crime are multiple and must be mainly related to the decline in volumes and the quiet period crossed by cryptocurrency prices. However, whether in the private or public sector, regulation or the crypto community, security on the blockchain concerns us all and remains a key concern for our ecosystem, especially after the year 2022.
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