The Crime-Crypto Nexus: Nuancing Risk Across Crypto-Crime Transactions

Cryptocurrency is supercharging illicit activities by transnational criminal networks, including terrorism, drug trafficking, pornography, sanctions evasion, and ransomware. Yet, mainstream cryptocurrency literature often overlooks this criminal association. The relatively new and transboundary nature of cryptocurrency is restructuring criminal activities. Hacking has emerged as a digital-age bank heist, siphoning off substantial sums from exchange platforms. Crypto crime is dynamic, transitioning from primarily placing and layering the proceeds of precursor crimes into the financial system to a burgeoning trend of stealing virtual currency. While not every online financial crime involves cryptocurrency, the proliferation of crypto-enabled cybercrimes is exponential. Paradoxically, existing literature largely disregards how cryptocurrency-enabled offenses such as Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA), sanctions evasion, and ransomware.