"Deposits to Illicit Crypto Addresses Nearly Doubled in 2021, Chainalysis Finds"

Researchers at Chainalysis have found that cryptocurrency-based crime hit a new all-time high in 2021.  According to the researchers, illicit addresses tracked by Chainalysis received $14 billion in deposits over the course of 2021, almost double the amount they collected in 2020.  Rather than digital extortion, researchers found that cryptocurrency-related scams, namely investment-related fraud and straight theft, saw the biggest jumps in 2021.  The researchers stated that illicit revenue from scams rose by 82% in 2021 to $7.8 billion worth of cryptocurrency.  Researchers attribute a large part of the growth to an increase in so-called “rug pulls,” a fraud scheme in which developers set up seemingly legitimate cryptocurrency projects with the intent to steal investors’ money and disappear.

CyberScoop reports: "Deposits to Illicit Crypto Addresses Nearly Doubled in 2021, Chainalysis Finds"