The 2024 crypto crime landscape is marked by both progress and growing complexities, as highlighted by the recently released Chainalysis report and the teaser for TRM Labs’ upcoming 2024 Crypto Crime Report. While these reports share common ground on trends like the decline in overall illicit activity, they also diverge in methodologies and emphasize different aspects of the evolving crypto crime ecosystem. Here’s a comparison of their key findings and what they reveal about the state of crypto crime.
Illicit Crypto Activity: Agreement on Decline but Diverging Figures
- TRM Labs: Reports that illicit activity represented only 0.4% of all crypto transactions in 2024, marking a 51% decrease in the proportion of illicit volume compared to 2023. Total illicit volume is estimated at $45 billion.
- Chainalysis: Estimates $40.9 billion received by illicit addresses in 2024 but anticipates this number will rise as additional data emerges, potentially exceeding $51 billion. For now, illicit activity accounts for 0.14% of total on-chain volume, though this figure is subject to revision.
Both reports agree that enhanced security measures and public-private collaboration have contributed to the decline in illicit activity, but Chainalysis emphasizes the lag in identifying illicit addresses and acknowledges underreporting as a factor.
Key Drivers of Illicit Activity
Both reports highlight major categories of illicit activity but approach them differently:
- TRM Labs: Identifies sanctions-related activity (33%), blocklisted funds (29%), and scams and fraud (24%) as the primary drivers of illicit crypto volume.
- Chainalysis: Focuses on the professionalization of crypto crime, noting the increasing diversity of illicit activities. It emphasizes fraud and scams, which include high-yield investment schemes, romance scams (“pig butchering”), and emerging AI-driven attacks like personalized sextortion.
The professionalization described by Chainalysis includes infrastructure services like Huione Guarantee, which facilitates laundering, fraud, and scam operations at scale. TRM’s report, by contrast, highlights collaboration efforts like the T3 Financial Crime Unit, which successfully froze $130 million in illicit proceeds.
Hacks, Ransomware, and Emerging Threats
Both reports agree on the persistence of cyberattacks but offer slightly different perspectives:
- Hacks:
- TRM Labs reports $2.2 billion stolen through hacks in 2024, a 17% increase from 2023, with North Korean actors responsible for 35% of these thefts.
- Chainalysis similarly highlights $2.2 billion in stolen funds but notes that private key compromises account for 43.8% of the total. North Korean groups are linked to $1.34 billion in theft, leveraging sophisticated infiltration tactics.
- Ransomware:
- TRM Labs reports 5,635 attacks, with ransom demands reaching a record $75 million in one case.
- Chainalysis focuses on sustained ransomware activity but notes a decrease in victim willingness to pay, driven by law enforcement crackdowns.
Diverging Views on Stablecoins and Asset Types
- TRM Labs: Highlights TRON as the blockchain with the highest illicit volume (58%) but also the largest reduction, thanks to collaborative efforts like T3 FCU.
- Chainalysis: Emphasizes the shift from Bitcoin to stablecoins, which now account for 63% of all illicit transaction volume, reflecting broader ecosystem trends. Stablecoins are increasingly targeted despite their centralized controls, which can freeze funds used for illicit purposes.
Convergence on Future Needs
Despite methodological differences, both reports underline the importance of:
- Advanced Blockchain Intelligence Tools: Both organizations stress the need for cutting-edge analytics to identify and disrupt criminal networks.
- Public-Private Collaboration: TRM’s T3 FCU and Chainalysis’s Huione-related insights demonstrate the power of partnerships in combating illicit activity.
- Global Coordination: Both reports call for strengthening cross-border collaboration between regulators, law enforcement, and private sector actors to address increasingly professionalized crypto crime.
What Does This Mean for the Blockchain Community?
The insights from these reports show that while illicit activity in crypto is decreasing as a percentage of overall volume, the landscape is becoming more diverse and professionalized. From large-scale laundering operations to high-tech scams, threat actors are evolving alongside the ecosystem. This underscores the need for vigilance, collaboration, and ongoing investment in intelligence and enforcement tools.
For the full findings, check out the TRM Labs teaser here and reserve your copy of the Chainalysis 2025 Crypto Crime Report here.
