Cryptocurrency Crime and Anti Money Laundering Report

Overview: Cash—anonymous and liquid—has long served as a tool for criminals. Cryptocurrency, with its similar characteristics, may likewise struggle to ever completely shake its bad reputation, despite illicit transactions making up less than 0.5% of Bitcoin’s yearly volume in 2020. Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) are the front line in preventing financial crime and identifying bad actors. However, inadequate anti-money laundering controls at a VASP can end up facilitating the flow of criminal funds around the world. As VASPs continue to mature and adopt stronger security measures, CipherTrace has found that criminals are beginning to set their sights on greener decentralized finance services over their centralized counterparts.