The Blockchain Tron platform facilitated the majority of illicit crypto transactions in 2024, including transfers linked to sanctioned entities, according to a report by the blockchain analysis company, TRM Labs.
The analysis company has published its Report on Cryptographic Crime 2025 On February 10, revealing a 24% drop in annual shift in illicit cryptocurrency transactions, totaling $ 44.7 billion in 2024.
However, the report warned that the final estimate of the volume of illicit transactions in 2024 should exceed the current projection of $ 44.7 billion. “And can even be more than $ 75 billion if we advance our revision upwards for the figure of 2023 (34.8 billion dollars) so far,” said the report.
Despite the allegedly dropped overall, Tron remained the dominant network for illegal activity, representing more than $ 26 billion in the total. Ethereum and Bitcoin followed as the next platforms most used for illicit transactions.
In addition, although illicit activity has decreased, the total volume of transactions through blockchain networks – including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tron, Binance Smart Chain and Polygon – increased by 56% to 10.6 Billions of Dollars .
“This represents 0.4% of the overall volume of cryptography and marks a decrease of 51% compared to 2023. TRM now determines that illicit volume represented approximately 0.9% of the total cryptography volume in 2023”, indicates the report .
TRM Labs defines illegal activity in their report as transactions related to fraudulent investment systems, scams, hacks, sanctioned entities and Darknet markets.
The report cites that the attractiveness of Tron for illicit actors is driven by its low transaction costs, its easy access to the main stablescoins and the advanced capacities of its intelligent contracts.
The analysis of TRM Labs revealed that although species, traditional financial institutions, monetary service companies and informal networks of Hawala – a system of confidence for the transfer of money without physical movement – remain the main channels financing of terrorism, the use of cryptocurrency by terrorist organizations increased in 2024.
Crypto and terrorist financing
The report underlined the growing concerns about the growing use of cryptocurrency by the Islamic State of the province of Khorasan (ISKP), affiliated with the Islamic State in Afghanistan.
In addition, the report identified four instances in 2024 where ISKP used cryptocurrencies, including a deadly attack in Moscow in March. He also noted that the cryptocurrency donations continued to be sent to the addresses linked to Hamas, the online entity affiliated to Hamas Gazanow and the Mujahideen Brigades, a militant organization.
Stablecoins remain the main choice for entities funding terrorist activities, with increasing dependence on portfolios and auto-customary mixers to obscure transaction trails, according to the report.
Auto-cuire portfolios, where users retain the total control of their private keys rather than counting on a third-party supplier, and mixers, who pool and redistribute cryptocurrencies to obscure the origins of transactions, are more and more used to escape detection.
In 2024, there was an increase in the use of fraudulent references to bypass the measures of KYC-VOIR-CLIENT (KYC) imposed by the exchange designed to verify the identities of the users. In addition, the interest in cryptocurrencies focused on privacy like Monero, known for their improved anonymity and their resistance to monitoring, continued to grow.
The number of publicly reported ransomware attacks increased in 2024, reaching 5,635 cases against 5,223 incidents the previous year.
The analysis company said that ransomware requests had reached record levels in 2024, illustrated by an unprecedented payment of $ 75 million made by an organization not disclosed at the Dark Angels Ransomware Group in March.
In response to global repressions, sanctioned entities, terrorist organizations and ransomware groups have adapted their tactics, taking more and more new technologies and methods to hide their activities, according to the firm.
“In the end, the fight against Crypto crime requires a proactive and collaborative approach. Regulatory organizations, law enforcement organizations and private sector partners must continue to adapt, innovate and cooperate to overcome the actors of the increasingly sophisticated threat, “said the report in the fence.
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Michaela has no cryptographic positions and has no cryptographic assets. This article is provided for information purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial advice. Shib and Shib Daily magazine are the official media and the publications of the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency project. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.
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