Overall Illicit Activity in Crypto Falls 20% Year-to-date: Chainalysis 

Crypto compliance and research firm Chainalysis has released its mid-year crypto crime report, revealing that overall illicit activity in the crypto space has fallen by 20% year-to-date. The aggregate illicit activity on-chain has decreased from $20.9 billion to $16.7 billion, indicating that legitimate activity is growing at a faster pace than illicit activity. However, the report also highlights that stolen funds and ransomware activities are on the rise. Stolen funds have nearly doubled to $1.58 billion, while ransomware inflows have increased by 2% to $459.8 million. The research shows that hackers are increasingly targeting centralized exchanges instead of DeFi protocols, and ransomware payments are on track to reach their highest-grossing year. Chainalysis emphasizes the importance of disrupting the supply chains of cybercrime, including attackers, affiliates, partners, infrastructure service providers, launderers, and cashout points. The report also indicates a need for more staffing and skilled expertise to aid in crypto investigations.