Scammers around the world took home a record $14 billion in cryptocurrency in 2021, thanks in large part to the rise of DeFi.
, and it executes when certain conditions are met, negating the need for a central intermediary.
Grauer tells CNBC that while there are third party firms that perform code audits and publicly designate which protocols are secure, many users still opt to work with risky platforms that bypass this step if they think they can get a large return. Transactions involving illicit addresses represented an all-time low of just 0.15% of the $15.8 trillion in total crypto trade volume in 2021.
"Crime is becoming a smaller and smaller part of the cryptocurrency ecosystem," continued the report. Unlike cash and other traditional forms of value transfer, every transaction is recorded in a publicly visible ledger, and with the right tools, Grauer says that it is possible to see how much of all cryptocurrency activity is associated with crime.