Stablecoins overtake Bitcoin in illegal cryptocurrency transactions
Key Takeaways
- Stablecoins surpassed Bitcoin as the preferred currency for illicit cryptocurrency transactions in 2022 and 2023.
- While the rise in illicit stablecoin transactions coincides with an overall increase in usage, traditional crimes such as darknet sales still favor Bitcoin.
- Revenues from cryptocurrency hacks and fraud have decreased significantly, indicating improved blockchain security and changing crime patterns in the cryptocurrency space.
The environment for cryptocurrency-based illegal transactions has changed significantly.Stablecoins will now overtake Bitcoin in 2022 and 2023.
This trend was highlighted in a recent report from blockchain analytics specialist Chainalytic, which indicated a notable shift in the preferences of cybercriminals.
Did you know?
Do you want to become smarter and richer with cryptocurrency?
Subscribe – We post new cryptocurrency explainer videos every week!
From 2018 to 2021, Bitcoin has been the primary currency for illegal activities in the cryptocurrency industry. But the report points to a turning point in the past two years. Stablecoins were mainly used for illicit transactions..
this change Consistent with the overall increase in stablecoin transactions In legal and illegal areas. Despite these changes, certain criminal activities, including: Darknet sales and ransomware schemes continue to rely heavily on Bitcoin..
Preferences for stablecoins include: This is especially evident in fraud and transactions involving sanctioned entities.This currently accounts for the largest portion of criminal transaction volume in the cryptocurrency world.
According to Chainalytic, by 2023, this type of activity will be It accounted for 14.9 billion dollars.This represents 61.5% of the total illicit trade volume they measured.
The report also highlights: A significant portion of these transactions are linked to cryptocurrency services. It is subject to sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, but operates in areas where such sanctions are ineffective.
In a related development, blockchain security company CertiK reported: Revenues from cryptocurrency hacking have decreased significantly. It will increase by more than 51% in 2023, indicating a positive trend in blockchain security.
Chainalytic’s report supports these observations., found that revenue from cryptocurrency hacking decreased by 54.3% and revenue from cryptocurrency fraud decreased by 29.2%. This means that transaction volumes associated with illegal addresses are simultaneously decreasing, indicating an evolving pattern of cryptocurrency-related crime.
The shift from Bitcoin to stablecoins has ushered in a new era of illicit cryptocurrency trading, with cryptocurrency-related crime and hacking proceeds expected to decline significantly in 2023.
Gile is a market sentiment analyst who understands which public events create which emotions. Her experience investigating Web3 news and public market messaging, including cryptocurrency news reporting, PR, and social network streams, will be invaluable to her role leading the Crypto News editorial team.
As an intelligent expert in the field of Public Relations, she works with her team to identify real VS fake news patterns and aims to provide her results to everyone searching for unbiased news and events happening in the FinTech market. Her expertise is in informing the public of the latest reliable and informative Web3 announcements.
When she’s not investigating the credibility of mainstream stories, she spends her time enjoying the terrace views and meticulously maintaining her outdoor environment.
