Chainalysis, a leading cybersecurity company, recently released a detailed report on digital asset crime in 2023.
The findings show a significant decrease in stolen funds, down 29% from the previous year. In addition, the report shows an overall decrease in illicit proceeds of more than 54%.
In 2022, industry members suffered $39.6 billion in losses due to fraud, hacking, and other illegal activities. However, in 2023, total losses dropped to $24.2 billion, with stolen assets accounting for just 0.34% of total #transactions.
It's worth noting that the original 2022 report estimated losses at $20.6 billion. The increase in this figure can be attributed to the emergence of new circumstances related to the period in question. It is noteworthy that the report includes claims of #FTX creditors in the amount of $8.7 billion. In November 2023, a court found the company's founder #Sam Bankman-Fried guilty of fraud, which allowed experts to include his case in the report.
The Chainalysis team also noted a change in the types of assets most often featured in cryptocurrency theft incidents. While in 2021, criminals predominantly conducted illegal transactions on the bitcoin network, this has changed over the past two years. Criminals are now more likely to use #stablecoins for their criminal activities, such as fraudulent schemes, under-the-table transactions, and asset theft.
However, it is important to recognize that in some cases, criminals still prefer to use the first cryptocurrency, #bitcoin. This is especially true for crimes related to extortion programs and darknet trading.
