Crypto Crime Surges to $40B in 2024, Stablecoins Dominate Illicit Transactions

Cryptocurrency-related illicit activities surged to an all-time high in 2024, with a record $40 billion received by illicit addresses, according to a report by blockchain security firm Chainalysis. This figure is expected to rise in 2025 as more details about historical crimes emerge.

The $40 billion estimate includes funds from various illicit activities such as scams, malware, fraud, and dark net activities. In comparison, the total illicit crypto volume in 2023 was $46.1 billion, and Chainalysis expects the 2024 total to exceed this when all crime is accounted for, with an estimated total of $51.3 billion.

The report also notes that the total excludes revenue from non-crypto native crimes, such as drug trafficking or money laundering, where crypto is used as a means of payment. Despite the increase in illicit activities, the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs in 2024 led to a wave of institutional volume, reducing the ratio of crypto crime volume to industry-wide volume. In 2024, illicit transactions accounted for 0.14% of all crypto transactions, compared to 0.61% in 2023.

Criminals' habits have evolved in terms of sending illicit funds. In 2021, around 70% of all illicit transactions involved bitcoin (BTC), but that has since flipped, with stablecoins now dominating illicit transactions at 63%. BTC accounts for around 20% of all illicit transactions, while privacy coin monero (XMR) and altcoins account for the remaining 10%.

It is worth noting that the 2025 figures may be skewed to include ether (ETH) due to the $1.5 billion hack on Bybit in February 2025, which is the largest single crypto theft to date.