Crypto’s $100 Billion in Illicit Flows Swamp Stablecoins, Exchanges
- Chainalysis finds record stablecoin usage in suspect activity
- Over half of illegal funds wind up on centralized exchanges
The number of intermediary digital wallets is growing faster on exchanges that comply with know-your-customer rules.
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Suspect digital wallets have distributed close to $100 billion in illicit funds across the cryptocurrency market since 2019, flows that often touch popular stablecoins and centralized exchanges, according to Chainalysis.
Bad actors are making record use of stablecoins, which now account for most of the illicit transaction volume in crypto, Chainalysis said in a study. More than half of all questionable flows wind up on centralized exchanges, it added. Stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle didn’t immediately return requests for comment.