Infographic: Trends in Illicit Use of Cryptocurrency

The volume of illicit transactions rose in 2022, marking the second consecutive year of an upward trend, according to Chainalysis’s 2023 Crypto Crime Report. In 2022, the total cryptocurrency value received by illicit addresses rose to an all-time high of $20.6 billion.

Illicit addresses are virtual accounts that receive or send virtual assets, such as BitCoin or other forms of cryptocurrency, and are managed by criminal actors, as opposed to legitimate accounts operated by law-abiding entities. “The goal of money laundering in cryptocurrency is to move funds to addresses where its original criminal source can’t be detected, and eventually to a service that allows cryptocurrency to be exchanged for cash—this usually means cryptocurrency exchanges,” according to Chainalysis.