Just over $ 22 billion in cryptocurrency was washed in 2023, a decrease of 30% compared to the previous year, with nasty actors to switch techniques to remain hidden from researchers, according to chain analysis.
The Blockchain Analysis Company claimed in a new report that part of the fall in money laundering of crypto money could be explained in the same period by a general decrease in crypto transaction volumes. However, this figure was only 15%.
The company noted that centralized exchanges remain the most important destination for funds sent from illegal addresses, as they have had in the last five years. The part of the funds that go to Defi protocols has grown because they have generally become more popular, although their inherent transparency makes them a bad choice for money laundering, the report added.
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Where chain salysis saw a major change in tactics, the increased use of a new mixer, Yomix, after the removal of Sinbad. It is likely that the North Korean Lazarus group uses this Bitcoin mixer for funds to be white, with the inflow that grows more than five times in 2023, the report noted.
In general, however, the total value of illegal funds that go to mixers that are almost halved, from $ 1 billion in 2022 to just $ 504 million last year.
Chainalysis also saw a large increase in the use of cross-chain bridges, with which users could move funds from one blockchain to another. In general, bridge protocols received $ 744 million in Crypto from illegal addresses in 2023, an increase of $ 312 million in 2022.
The good news, however, is that blockchain analysts can trace these funds, Chainalysis said.
“The changes in money laundering that we have seen of crypto criminals such as Lazarus Group serve as an important reminder that the most advanced illegal actors always adjust their money cleaning strategy and operate new types of crypto services,” concluded the report.
“Legal enforcement and compliance teams can be more effective by studying these new money laundering methods and becoming familiar with the accompanying patterns.”