Chainalysis: More Than 4,000 Criminal Whales Own $25B in Crypto

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According to a new report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, almost 4% of “whale balances” are controlled by criminals, whose wallets hold over $25 billion in cryptocurrencies.

All private wallets that received more than 10% of withheld funds from illegal sources have been classified as “criminal whales” by the company. Analysts identified 4,068 such addresses, which is 3.7% of the total number of crypto whales.

According to the company, 1,374 such entities received between 10% and 25% of withheld funds from illegal sources. On the balance sheets of 1,361 whales, the share of criminal funds ranged from 90% to 100%.

The report reads:

“While stolen assets dominate the total amount of criminal funds, darknet markets are the largest sources of illegal proceeds of criminal whales. In second place is fraud, in third place is theft.”