Chainalysis: In 2021, cryptocurrency scammers earned a record $14 billion

In 2021, attackers targeted at the cryptocurrency industry stole a record $14 billion. The data from analytics firm Chainalysіs show.

The proceeds from scam projects rose by 82% and amounted to $7.8 billion in cryptocurrencies.

Analysts noted that much of the rise in fraud in the crypto industry in 2021 was driven by the growth of the DeFi segment and the hype surrounding it.

Hackers stole about $3.2 billion, up 516% from 2020. 72% of this amount was stolen from DeFi protocols. Experts also noted a rise in using these protocols for laundering funds.

Total volume of cryptocurrency transactions rose fivefold—to $15.8 trillion. This is 567% higher than in 2020, according to analysts. They noted that the growth in legitimate use of digital currencies far outpaced the growth of illicit transactions.

Operations using illicit addresses fell to a record low – they accounted for 0.15% of the total volume.

Analysts at Chainalysis assessed the losses from rug-pull schemes, which spread widely in the DeFi ecosystem in 2021, at $2.8 billion.

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