Crypto money laundering activity down 29% from 2022: Chainalysis 

Illicit addresses sent $22.2 billion worth of cryptocurrency in 2023, a 29.5% decrease from 2022, according to the latest report from Chainalysis

article-image

Wirestock Creators/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Money laundering involving crypto assets is generally down from a year ago, but illicit actors are starting to change their tactics, according to a report published Thursday by crypto analytics firm Chainalysis. 

Illicit addresses sent $22.2 billion worth of cryptocurrency in 2023, a 29.5% decrease from 2022, the report noted. While a broad decline in transaction volume across the board may have contributed to this decrease, the drop off in money laundering activity was steeper, analysts said. 

More illicit actors are sending stolen funds to blockchain bridges, the report found. There has also been a “substantial increase in funds sent from ransomware to gambling platforms,” the report added. 

Read more: Average potential crypto rug pull makes $2,600 in profit: Chainalysis

“Overall, it’s possible that crypto criminals are diversifying their money laundering activity across more nested services or deposit addresses in order to better conceal it from law enforcement and exchange compliance teams,” analysts wrote. “Spreading the activity across more addresses may also be a strategy to lessen the impact of any one deposit address being frozen for suspicious activity.”

It appears recent sanctions on cryptocurrency mixing services may be working, Chainalysis found, noting there was a decline in funds sent to mixers from illicit addresses last year, from $1.0 billion in 2022 to $504.3 million in 2023. There is however the problem of new services popping up to replace those blacklisted, analysts added. 

Read more: North Korea is still a threat to crypto: Chainalysis

“Sinbad became a preferred mixer for North Korea-affiliated hackers in 2022, soon after the sanctioning of Tornado Cash, which had previously been the go-to for these sophisticated cybercriminals,” the report noted. With Sinbad out of the picture, Bitcoin-based mixer YoMix has acted as a replacement. 

Chainalysis’s latest report comes on the heels of the US Treasury Department’s 2024 National Risks Assessments, which claimed that while the use of cryptocurrency in illicit financing has increased, fiat remains the most popular choice for those looking to conceal funds. 

The House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday also discussed how digital assets are used to fund terrorists, with Terrorism and Financial Intelligence undersecretary Brian Nelson reiterating that “traditional products and services” are still terrorists’ “preference.”


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
  • Supply Shock: Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.jpg

Research

Bluefin possibly stands at an inflection point. The token is near an all-time low yet the protocol’s spot volume market share and derivatives exchange usage have been increasing month over month since its November launch. Given its current market position and the upcoming upgrades (for both Bluefin and SUI), there may be upside potential before the increased supply growth in December. However, strong opposition from existing competitors (like Cetus and Suilend), as well as new entrants (like Aftermath), pose key challenges to Bluefin’s medium-term success.

article-image

Top Committee Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren in her opening statement accused Atkins of “helping billionaire CEOs like Sam Bankman-Fried”

article-image

Introducing garbled circuits for enhanced privacy and regulatory compliance

article-image

Ross Ulbricht was a freedom maximalist building freedom tech, powered by Bitcoin

article-image

Solana validators can reap benefits including payments, votes and community clout

article-image

Sponsored

WalletConnect is cementing itself as the essential connectivity layer, ensuring wallets remain the entry point for billions of users

article-image

According to a legal filing, Galaxy Digital helped boost the price of LUNA while quietly selling its tokens