Chainalysis recently published a study on criminal enterprises, specifically the so-called criminal whales, that retain vast sums of money in the form of cryptocurrencies. The study claimed that criminal whales still hold $25 billion in crypto assets despite substantial law enforcement seizures last year. Cryptocurrency had a solid year in 2021, reaching a value of over $3 trillion in November, while bitcoin, which accounts for around a third of all cryptocurrency, also achieved a high until plummeting by more than 40% last week. Criminals who stole bitcoin were among the biggest winners from rising prices, as the number of cryptocurrencies linked to illegal operations more than quadrupled since last year. The Dark Web comes in second, providing $448 million in illegal cryptocurrency. Scams rank third with $192 million, Fraud Shops in fourth with $66 million, and Ransomware is at last row with $30 million. Criminal Whales Swallow Big According to the report, last year saw “a huge increase in criminal balances,” with criminal whales holding around $11 billion in 2021 compared to $3 billion in 2020. Furthermore, the funds represent the lion’s share of crypto held by unscrupulous entities out of stolen funds, Ransomware, fraud and illegal trading. Throughout the years, stolen funds have accounted for 93% of all criminal balances, according to latest figures. Criminal whales have obtained more than 10% of their f...
