Europol, the European Union’s police force, disclosed that the quantity of criminal cases it manages involving Bitcoin is virtually identical to that of altcoins.
On Monday, the agency published its most recent Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA), which emphasized an increase in the use of crypto in a variety of criminal activities. In particular, it discovered a significant increase in the utilization of altcoins for criminal purposes.
The agency observed that ransomware perpetrators predominantly request Bitcoin for ransom payments due to its ease of acquiring in comparison to other tokens.
Moreover, Europol issued a warning that the recent developments in the crypto market could potentially affect the manner in which criminals exploit cryptocurrencies. It is important to note that fraudsters may begin to exploit the growing number of crypto-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
There is an increasing trend of converting Bitcoin into stablecoins, such as Tether (USDT), in instances of investment deception. This is predominantly due to the fact that stablecoins are less volatile in terms of price. Additionally, researchers have discovered that the prevalence of Tether on the Tron blockchain is greater than that on the Ethereum blockchain. This is most likely attributable to the lower transaction fees on Tron.
Additionally, the presence of non-compliant services continues to present substantial obstacles in the context of crypto investigations. It stated that services located in offshore jurisdictions frequently result in extended mutual legal assistance procedures, despite the fact that certain organizations have improved their collaboration with law enforcement.
Additionally, Europol reported an increase in the use of exchanging services for the purpose of laundering cryptocurrency in 2023. Criminals employ these services to conceal their funds by transitioning to privacy coins for anonymity and to stablecoins for price stability.
Europol issued an alert last month regarding the potential for money laundering associated with crypto mining. The agency issued a report cautioning that criminals may exploit mining to hide unlawful assets and generate revenue. For instance, the BitClub Network case disclosed how mining pools can be exploited to facilitate Ponzi schemes, resulting in the loss of hundreds of millions of euros for victims.
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