Crypto Decrypted

9Myth – Crypto Empowers Crime

“Crypto is only used for illegal activity” is something people love to say at cocktail parties and boardrooms. As we debunked Professor Krugman in Chapter 7 regarding this issue, we are here to set this myth aside. Just like a camera or a hammer, crypto is a tool, and a tool serves the agenda of the one who wields it. If you look at the numbers, it's clear that most crypto is not used for criminal activity. According to a 2022 report from Chainalysis, criminal activity represented 3.4% of all cryptocurrency transaction volume in 2019. In 2020, the criminal share of all cryptocurrency activity fell to just 0.62%. There is far more crime involved in the use of dollars; it's just not new or sexy.  We would argue that a hundred‐dollar bill is more dangerous simply because it is used so much more often.

In the Chainalysis report on the year 2021, the trend continued. “Across all cryptocurrencies, total transaction volume grew to $15.8 trillion in 2021, up 567% from 2020's totals. Given that roaring adoption, it's no surprise that more cybercriminals are using cryptocurrency. But the fact that the increase of illegal activity was only 79% – nearly an order of magnitude lower than overall adoption – might be the biggest surprise of all.”¹ Chainalysis found that with the growth of legitimate crypto far outpacing the growth of criminal usage, illicit activity's share of cryptocurrency transaction volume has never been lower. As cryptocurrency growth and ...