News
Crypto crime is on the rise, investigators need more
As cryptocurrency use cases increase, cryptocurrency-related crimes are becoming increasingly difficult to track, according to a new report.
Cryptocurrency crimes and investigations, as revealed in a new Chainalysis relationship, are becoming complex and resource-intensive compared to normal criminal investigations. This adds to the crucial role of public sector investigative agencies in fighting crypto crime, underlining the urgent need to improve staffing and technology in the crypto sector.
Over the last decade, cryptocurrencies have emerged as a focus police, regulatory and military agencies around the world, and the attention will only increase. Agencies are tasked with reducing risks related to cryptocurrencies in the public sector without completely removing its usability.
The survey found that public sector employees generally view cryptocurrencies positively. Respondents from Latin America and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) are optimistic about its position in financial markets, while respondents from Asia-Pacific (APAC) are more skeptical.
Participants expected an increase in crypto-criminal activity over the next five years. They also predicted that the investigations would take longer to track and report. About half of participants also expressed dissatisfaction with their agencies’ staffing and technical resources to investigate cryptocurrency-related crimes.
Cryptographic perceptions
According to the survey, over 50% of participants consider cryptocurrencies to be a legitimate form of currency, with the EMEA region having the highest regard at 72.4%.
However, most of the respondents believe that cryptocurrencies are mainly used by bad actorslike criminals, especially in the APAC region, where 67.7% share this perspective.
“These illicit use cases extend beyond the forms of cybercrime we typically think of as crypto-native, such as ransomware and darknet markets, and include everything from intellectual property crimes to conventional drug trafficking,” the report reads. relationship.
Despite this outlook, many believe in the adoption potential and impact of cryptocurrencies on traditional financial systems, especially in Latin America, due to the economic challenges driving financial innovation.
Crypto in investigations
Most survey participants recognized the importance of cryptocurrencies in their investigations across various industries. There were notable differences in perceived experience, with APAC respondents expressing less confidence than EMEA respondents.
“Subnational tax authorities report the highest instance of cryptocurrency-related artifacts in their investigations, as might be expected given their mandate, at 45.3%,” the report reads. “Military and defense agency respondents report the lowest rate at 19.0%, likely reflecting their primary focus on different types of threats and criminal activity.
The need for more crypto assets
Despite their differing expertise, respondents agreed that additional resources are vital for public sector agencies and should be allocated to cryptocurrency investigations. Chainalysis’s main argument in this regard was that cryptocurrency-related cases generally take longer to solve than traditional financial and non-financial crimes.
Respondents said they have seen widespread use of cryptocurrencies in fraud, scams, cybercrime and drug-related crimes and that more resources could help investigate the variety of crimes. The EMEA region reported the highest incidence level.
“Overall, more than half of respondents said they were extremely dissatisfied or somewhat dissatisfied with their agency’s staffing resources available for cryptocurrency investigations,” the report reads.
US respondents were generally satisfied with training opportunities but less so with staff and technical resources.
Recommendations
To address these challenges, the survey suggested that agencies increase their staff dedicated to cryptocurrency investigations specialized training programsinvest in technology to facilitate investigations and create partnerships with private sector organisations.
Over 800 public sector employees from around the world responded to the survey. APAC respondents accounted for 44.3% of total respondents, North America 18.1%, and EMEA 10.4%. About a quarter of those surveyed declined to share their position.