Illicit crypto activity hit a record $51B in 2024, driven by organised crime, scams, and stolen funds, says Chainalysis’ latest report.
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis’s latest report, 2025 Crypto Crime Report, highlights that illicit crypto activity surged to unprecedented levels in 2024.
The report estimates that activity on illicit crypto addresses received over $40.9 billion in funds. However, the true figure may be closer to $51 billion, as additional illicit addresses are identified and their historical activity is incorporated.
This marks an all-time high for crypto-related criminal inflows, despite transactions from illicit crypto activity falling to 0.14% of total crypto transaction volume, down from 0.61% in 2023.
A key trend in 2024 was the diversification and professionalisation of crypto crime. Illicit actors increasingly utilised cryptocurrency for a broader range of crimes, while large-scale on-chain services emerged to facilitate money laundering.
Stolen funds grew by 21% to $2.2 billion, driven primarily by private key compromises. North Korean hackers stole a record $1.34 billion, representing 61% of all stolen crypto, with many attacks attributed to North Korean IT workers infiltrating crypto and Web3 firms.
The report also highlighted the prevalence of scams, including high-yield investment schemes and AI-driven fraud. Notable concerns included crypto ATM scams and pig butchering scams.
Conversely, revenues from ransomware, darknet markets, and fraud shops saw significant declines, partly due to law enforcement disruptions and reduced victim compliance with ransom demands.
Stablecoins accounted for 63% of all illicit crypto transaction volume in 2024, reflecting their increased adoption for legitimate and illegal purposes. While Bitcoin remains dominant in ransomware payments and darknet market sales, other forms of crypto crime leveraged a wider range of digital assets.
Finally, the report sheds light on the online marketplace Huione Guarantee, which processed over $70 billion in crypto transactions since 2021 and serves as a hub for various illicit activities. The findings underscore the ongoing challenges of addressing crypto crime and the evolving tactics of criminal networks.
Read the full report here.
