First, and most critically, only a small fraction of crypto is used for illicit activity, far less than we see in traditional finance, which according to the United Nations could be up to 5% of global GDP. Per analytics firm Chainalysis, money laundering accounts for less than 0.5% of all crypto transaction flows. This is also decreasing steadily over time. Even as crypto usage rose in 2023, the amount of money laundering in crypto fell from $31.5 billion in 2022 to $22.2 billion in 2023. No significant amount of illicit activity is acceptable, but to single out crypto as the villain is both inaccurate and tired.
