CipherTrace puts 2020 losses from crypto scams and hacks at $1.9 billion

Losses from crimes related to cryptocurrencies last year reached $1.9 billion. The figures are outlined in a new report from CipherTrace.

When it comes to crypto crime, we have 2020 vision. Read all about the year that was in our latest Cryptocurrency Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Report. https://t.co/QNPjNUKEA5 #AML #cryptocrime #cryptocurrency #CBDC #DeFi #rugpull #Satoshi #BTC #XMR #ETH #FutureOfMoney pic.twitter.com/8hXG4g4T3V

— CipherTrace (@ciphertrace) January 28, 2021

In 2020, losses from crypto-related crimes were 57% lower than in the year before. In 2019, the figure stood at $4.5 billion. Despite the same number of offenses, the average loss per incident fell by 160%.

Data: CipherTrace.

The largest hack of 2020, worth $281 million, was the KuCoin exchange. A large portion of the stolen funds (84%) was recovered, which CipherTrace called unprecedented.

Last year, U.S. exchanges transferred $41.2 million in bitcoin directly to criminals. 84% of inter-exchange transactions in bitcoin were cross-border transfers. Of these, one third went to an exchange with lax identity verification procedures.

The big hacks of 2020: DeFi, exchanges and DeFi again

Chainalysis notes that in 2020 the share of crime-related cryptocurrency transactions fell to $10 billion.

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