PANews reported on January 15 that according to The Block, the blockchain analysis company Chainalysis released a report stating that stablecoins dominated the illegal cryptocurrency transaction volume in 2024, accounting for as much as 63%. This trend has gradually emerged since 2022, with stablecoins surpassing Bitcoin to become the most commonly used cryptocurrency in illegal activities. The report also shows that the total annual growth rate of stablecoin activities is about 77%, showing its wide influence in the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem. According to Chainalysis, as on-chain criminal activities become increasingly diversified, illegal cryptocurrency transaction volume is expected to reach US$51.3 billion in 2024. According to current indicators, the total funds received by illegal crypto addresses last year were approximately US$40.9 billion, but as more illegal addresses are identified and historical activities are included in the estimate, this figure is expected to climb to US$51.3 billion throughout the year.
In addition, the amount of stolen cryptocurrency funds in 2024 increased by about 21% year-on-year, reaching a total of US$2.2 billion. Among them, DeFi services became the main source of stolen funds, while centralized services became the focus of attacks in the second and third quarters of last year. Throughout the year, private key leaks accounted for as much as 43.8% of the stolen cryptocurrencies, of which North Korean hackers stole nearly US$1.34 billion last year, a record high. In terms of fraud types, Chainalysis pointed out that both high-tech and low-tech frauds were rampant in 2024. Among them, high-yield investment scams and "pig killing" scams were particularly successful.