Scams and dark web marketplaces dominated cybercrime in 2020.
Ransomware was the fastest growing crime compared to 2019.
A total of transfers for cyber crimes with cryptocurrencies of USD 10 billion during the year 2020, was reported by the intelligence firm Chainalysis in its 2021 Crypto Crime Report , published this Monday, January 19.
Cyber crimes carried out through cryptocurrencies decreased by 53.3% compared to 2019, with a total of transfers of USD 21,400 million.
Chainalysis highlights that despite the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, bitcoin broke all its previous price records, which increased considerably ement the volumes of cryptocurrency transactions.
In 2019, criminal activity accounted for 2.1% of all cryptocurrency transaction volume, or roughly $ 21.4 billion in transfers.In 2020, the criminal share of all cryptocurrency activity fell to just 0.34%, or $ 10.0 billion in transaction volume.One reason the percentage of criminal activity declined is that overall economic activity nearly tripled between 2019 and 2020.
Chainalysis, Crypto Crime Report 2021.
The following image reflects the value of the annual totals of cryptocurrencies paid to cyber criminals from 2017 to 2020.Totals of the annual amount paid in cryptocurrencies.Source: Chainalysis.
The report highlights that crimes related to cryptocurrencies decreased, in terms of money paid , and that the percentage “still remains a small part of the overall cryptocurrency economy.” Subsequently, the types of crimes that drove that 0.34% of cryptocurrency transactions associated with criminal activity in 2020.READ ALSO: Ford recalls 600,000 midsize cars in US to fix brake problem Scams, dark web and ransomware
Chainalysis analyzed the types of crimes received the highest amount of cryptocurrencies in total from 2017 to 2020.
The firm clarifies that It is the value of the cryptocurrencies received by criminals, which are associated with “criminal income.” This implies that the annual total is less than that shown in the first graph, which also includes transfers made by illegitimate entities, according to Chainalysis, and that it is associated with money laundering.Funds received by illicit entities from 2017 to 2020.
Source: Chainalysis.
As seen In the graph above, scams (in blue) constitute the predominant crime of the four years shown, followed by activities on the darknet or dark web.
Chainalysis highlights that, despite having a minority stake in the annual general total of 2020, the ransomware was the crime that grew the most percentage that year.Once this type of encryption attack on the user’s information is carried out, cryptocurrencies are requested in exchange for the keys to restore the encrypted data.
The following graph shows the monthly amount received by the different types of criminal entities throughout the year 2020.Monthly payments received by illicit entities in 2020.Source: Chainalysis.
In 2019, Scams accounted for 54% of cryptocurrency-related crimes, representing roughly $ 2.6 billion in received crypto, says Chainalysis.“However, both the gross value and share of all criminal activity represented by scams is much lower in 2020 than in 2019, as there were no scams comparable to the huge Ponzi PlusToken scheme last year, which raised more than $ 2 billion.” READ ALSO: Day after Christmas expected to be a travel nightmare, experts say
The markets of the Darknet were once again the second category of crimes, accounting for $ 1.7 billion in cryptocurrency activity, compared to $ 1.3 billion in 2019.
However, the huge growth in cryptocurrency-based crime in 2020 occurred with the ransomware , highlighted Chainalysis.
Although this category of crimes is represented only 7% of all funds received by illicit entities, or a value of just under USD 350 million in cryptocurrencies.But that figure represents an increase of 311% compared to 2019 , notes Chainalysis.No other category of cryptocurrency-based crime increased so dramatically in 2020.It is possible that telecommuting measures driven by Covid opened up new vulnerabilities for many organizations.
It should also be considered, points out the intelligence firm, that the estimates of ransomware are probably lower than those reported.«The 2020 figure for total payments of ransomware will likely grow as we identify more addresses associated with different strains, particularly in the last months of the year.”
CriptoNoticias reported on January 10 that Binance and Huobi are the exchanges of preference to launder bitcoin funds from ransomware Ryuk, according to a report published jointly by the firms Advanced Intelligence and Hyas.The researchers were able to identify the pattern of fund movements in the referred cryptocurrency trading platforms.
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