Cyber Criminals Amass $25 Billion Worth of Cryptocurrency Through Their Criminal Activities
Cyber criminals have taken advantage of the increase in cryptocurrency usage, resulting in a growing number of small fortunes being amassed in digital currency as a result of hacks and scams. A recent report by Chainalysis found 4,068 criminal “whales,” defined as those who own over $1 million worth of stolen cryptocurrency. These “whales” have managed to accumulate $25 billion in cryptocurrency through their criminal activities. This represents 3.7% of all the “whale” wallets in the world. The report also found that crypto crime reached a new all-time high in 2021, with $14 billion of funds linked to illicit activity – a 79% increase from the year before.
Hacks and Ransomware Scams Responsible for Billions in Stolen Cryptocurrency
The billions in stolen and scammed cryptocurrency were mostly taken through ransomware scams and hacks. Hacks from cyber criminals in North Korea increased from 4 in 2020 to 7 in 2021, with the value extracted in these hacks growing by 40%. Russia was the major source of most ransomware attacks, with $400 million-worth of stolen cryptocurrency traced back to criminals working in the country last year. Overall, the investigation of criminal “whales” represents a major opportunity for government agencies around the world to continue their string of successful seizures and bring to justice the biggest beneficiaries of cryptocurrency-based crime.
Report Likely to Spur Increased Regulation of Cryptocurrency Exchanges and Cause Investors to Re-Evaluate Digital Asset Risks
Crypto crime has been in the spotlight recently following the arrest of Heather Morgan and Ilya Lichtenstein in New York last week. The husband and wife duo were charged with money laundering and fraud after the seizure of £3.7 billion in allegedly stolen bitcoin linked to a 2016 hack. Morgan, who also goes by the name Razzlekhan, and her husband are accused of using fake identities to convert bitcoin into other digital currencies and laundering the funds over a period of five years. This report will likely spur increased regulation of cryptocurrency exchanges and may cause investors to re-evaluate the risks of digital assets.
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