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<\/p>\nData: Chainalysis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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One factor will be the discovery by analytical firms Chainalysis and Elliptic of new traces of illicit activity that they had previously missed. This was the case with PlusToken, disclosed the following year after its active operation.<\/p>\n
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The other reason is the growing popularity of the DeFi space among cybercriminals. According to Illum, they are attracted by the lack of human control in transactions executed via smart contracts.<\/p>\n
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\n\u201cThe question remains open whether the popularity of platforms whose administrators have the ability to block illicit transactions will endure, as we have seen during the KuCoin hack<\/a>,\u201d the expert wrote.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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The third factor is the decentralisation of dark-net marketplaces. As an example, Illum cited Televend, which uses encrypted automated chat bots in Telegram. Buyers place orders in the seller\u2019s automated chat, and then the bot sends a Bitcoin address.<\/p>\n
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\n\u201cTelevend earns commissions on each deal, but effectively does not touch the funds, so there is no central organisation that law enforcement could track with blockchain analysis. Hiding transactions this way is much easier,\u201d the specialist explained.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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As reported, Chainalysis analysts linked 1.1% of crypto transactions by value to illicit activity in 2019. In 2020 this figure fell to 0.34%<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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