Crypto crime in 2024 likely exceeded $51B, far higher than reported: Chainalysis

Crypto transgression has entered a professionalized epoch dominated by AI-driven scams, stablecoin laundering and businesslike cyber syndicates, the 2025 “Crypto Crime Report” by Chainalysis reveals, with the past twelvemonth witnessing a staggering $51 cardinal successful illicit transaction measurement — shattering erstwhile records and assumptions.

Initial estimates suggested a diminution successful crypto transgression for 2024. Deeper investigation present suggests otherwise: Criminals person adopted precocious wealth laundering techniques, hinging connected stablecoins, decentralized concern (DeFi) and AI-powered deception, which created the illusion of decreased crime.

Gone are the days of lone hackers and shady darknet markets. The study paints a grim representation of hyper-professionalized cybercrime networks, wherever fraud cartels, nation-state hackers and AI-powered scams predominate the landscape.

Ransomware payments dropped 35% year-over-year (YoY), yet the conflict is acold from won. Cybercriminals are abandoning Bitcoin (BTC) successful favour of stablecoins, Monero (XMR) and DeFi exploits.

Total cryptocurrency worth received by illicit addresses 2020–2024. Source: Chainalysis 

Stablecoins are the caller kingpin of illicit crypto activity

Bitcoin was the currency of prime for cybercriminals for years, but this changed successful 2022. The 2025 Chainalysis study shows a seismic displacement to stablecoins that present relationship for 63% of each illicit crypto transactions. 

Criminals are abandoning Bitcoin successful favour of stablecoins due to the fact that they connection speed, liquidity and regulatory unsighted spots that marque illicit transactions easier to execute and harder to trace. Unlike Bitcoin, which tin acquisition longer confirmation times, stablecoins supply near-instantaneous transactions and US dollar-pegged stability. 

This makes stablecoins perfect for laundering ample sums of wealth without worrying astir terms fluctuations and makes tracking transactions harder owed to faster shifts done mixers, crosschain bridges and DeFi protocols to obscure transaction origins and evade detection. This pivot shows a increasing penchant for much businesslike fiscal tools successful the evolving scenery of crypto crime.

Stablecoins person overtaken BTC for illicit enactment for the 3rd year. Source: Chainalysis

Ransomware payments driblet 35%, but cybercrime adapts

At archetypal glance, ransomware attacks look to person declined. In 2024, payments declined by 35%, suggesting that victims and regulators are yet gaining the precocious hand. However, this fig masks a deeper transformation.

Rather than disappearing, ransomware groups person rebranded, diversified and adapted. Following the takedown of LockBit, smaller ransomware-as-a-service groups similar RansomHub person absorbed displaced operators, demonstrating however cybercriminal networks swiftly accommodate to enforcement actions.

Another assemblage of crypto transgression continues to thrive successful plain show done elemental marketplace manipulation. Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) stay fertile crushed for lavation trading, wherever fraudsters orchestrate schemes that inflate trading volumes and deceive investors. The crypto steadfast CLS Global just pleaded blameworthy to wash-trading a token made by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for a cyber sting operation. 

Related: In pictures: Bybit’s record-breaking $1.4B hack

The crypto marketplace remains plagued by lavation trading, fake measurement and pump-and-dump schemes. The 2025 Chainalysis study estimates that $2.57 cardinal successful illicit trading measurement was artificially generated successful 2024.

These methods trust connected creating an illusion of demand, often done automated trading bots that rapidly bargain and merchantability tokens to inflate prices artificially. This fabricated enactment tricks caller investors into believing a task has existent momentum. A fast-growing greenish candle and seemingly integrated measurement gully successful caller investors with the committedness of speedy gains. 

Once capable unsuspecting buyers participate the market, insiders dump their holdings, crashing the terms and leaving retail investors holding worthless tokens. This cycle, known arsenic the classical “pump-and-dump,” continues to plague DEXs, undermining spot successful crypto markets.

In 2024, 3.59% of each caller tokens minted displayed classical rug-pull behavior. 

Looking up astatine cat-and-mouse crypto crime 

Chainalysis’s 135-page study besides covers the emergence of laundering-as-a-service platforms, the diminution of darknet marketplace revenues, and the increasing relation of AI successful crypto scams. It examines however North Korean hackers stole a grounds $1.34 billion, the autumn of large ransomware groups similar LockBit and the SEC’s crackdown connected $2.57 cardinal successful marketplace manipulation schemes. The study shows the improvement of transgression and the escalating planetary effect with elaborate lawsuit studies and forensic insights. 

There is simply a cat-and-mouse crippled with regulators and criminals locked successful an escalating arms race. Stablecoin regulations are expected to tighten arsenic governments respond to their increasing relation successful wealth laundering.

At the aforesaid time, AI-powered fraud volition grow exponentially, with deepfake scams, synthetic identities and automated phishing attacks becoming harder to detect. Ransomware tactics volition proceed to evolve, shifting absorption from ransom payments to information theft and extortion.

Cybercriminals volition find caller ways to unit victims, and arsenic instrumentality enforcement steps up its efforts, the conflict betwixt regulators and illicit actors volition lone intensify, shaping the aboriginal of crypto’s relation successful planetary finance.

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