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More than 4,000 criminal-activity-related addresses currently hold over $25 million worth of cryptocurrency

According to ChainAnalysis and some reports, more than 4,000 addresses involved in criminal activity hold over $25 million worth of cryptocurrency. Criminal whales make up nearly 4% of all crypto whales. The addresses mentioned above are somehow involved in money laundering, drug trafficking, and terrorism.

Criminal whales hold more than $25 billion worth of cryptocurrency

In 2021, illicit activity in the crypto industry had steadily increased as more private funds began to flow into the industry. But with the increasing activity of criminal elements in cryptocurrencies, law enforcement has discovered a new way to seize digital assets from criminals.

more-than-4000-criminal-activity-related-addresses-currently-hold-over-25-million-worth-of-cryptocurrency

Source: Chainalysis

According to the analytics firm, in 2021, the IRS-CI seized more than $3.5 billion in cryptocurrencies from wallets marked as being involved in criminal activities. But at the same time, the regulators do not disclose the technical methods of seizing those assets.

The most recent and likely largest one-off waiver for digital assets is linked to a pair of crimes conducted or related to the 2016 Bitfinex hack. Access to private keys was obtained through cloud storage services that hackers used for storing quite sensitive data.

According to ChainAnalysis, most “criminal wallets” are related to stolen funds and darknet markets. By 2021, hackers and scammers could steal at least $8 billion from gullible or inexperienced users new to the industry.

At the end of 2021, the volume of funds focused on criminal wallets increased following a series of DeFi hacks. Many platforms and users have fallen victim to various exploits found in smart contracts.

Given the age of coins on the addresses of illicit whales in 2021, they tend to diversify their holdings or move money to fiat as soon as possible. It is likely tied to law enforcement finding new ways to take over digital currency.

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