Cryptocurrency
Rising Crypto Crime Trends in 2024
Thursday. August 15 at 5:30 PM
1 min. readA recent report by Chainalysis reveals a decrease in overall illicit transactions in the cryptocurrency market in 2024. However, specific types of crypto-related criminal activities have surged. Illicit activity in crypto has dropped by 19.6% year-to-date, falling from $20.9 billion to $16.7 billion by July 2024. Legitimate crypto activity has been growing faster than illicit activity, attributed to positive industry events like the adoption of spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in the US. Despite positive developments, stolen funds and ransomware activities have increased. Cryptocurrency hacking has seen a significant resurgence, with the cumulative value of stolen crypto surpassing $1.58 billion in 2024. The average compromised value per hack has also increased. Additionally, centralized exchanges have become targets for hackers, with notable incidents like the DMM exchange losing $305 million in Bitcoin. Ransomware attacks have worsened, with a record $75 million payment to a ransomware group in July 2024.