General

The FBI's 2023 Cryptocurrency Fraud Report, released on September 9, 2024, reveals a staggering $5.6 billion lost to crypto-related scams, marking a 45% increase from the previous year. This article explores the key findings of the report, focusing on the most common scams, the demographics most affected, and the increasing sophistication of cybercriminals within the growing blockchain ecosystem. Additionally, we'll examine why Web3's rapid expansion has become a hotspot for scammers and how to protect yourself against these rising threats.

Stablecoins, a relatively recent addition to the cryptocurrency landscape, have rapidly gained popularity due to their price stability. Designed to mimic the stability of fiat currencies, stablecoins offer a bridge between the traditional financial system and the decentralized world of cryptocurrencies. However, this growing popularity has also made stablecoins a target and haven for illicit activities.

The cryptocurrency landscape has seen a surge in security breaches recently. The first half of 2024 witnessed an escalation in thefts, with losses totaling $1.49 billion—a staggering 120% increase compared to the previous year. Hot wallet attacks and private key leaks were among the primary contributors to these losses. 

The cryptocurrency ecosystem, while promising financial innovation, has inadvertently become a fertile ground for criminal activities. The decentralized nature, coupled with the pseudonymous nature of transactions, has presented unique challenges for law enforcement and security professionals.

Cryptocurrencies are known for their volatility, with prices experiencing rapid and unpredictable fluctuations. This inherent instability poses a significant barrier to the widespread adoption of digital assets, especially for applications requiring price stability. Stablecoins, a novel class of crypto-assets, offer a potential solution by providing a more stable value proposition. This blog post delves into the inner workings of stablecoins, exploring their core functionalities, and the mechanisms employed to maintain their peg to a designated external reference asset.  It also examines the potential risks associated with their use, the regulatory landscape, and the challenges faced by global and regional authorities in governing these digital assets.

The rise of decentralized finance (DeFi) has revolutionized how we interact with cryptocurrencies. However, alongside innovation comes the challenge of mitigating illicit activity. Coin swapping, a core function within DeFi, has emerged as a tool for money laundering, raising concerns about the potential misuse of these platforms. In this blog we’ll review how coin swapping on decentralized exchanges (or DEXs) works and why criminals exploit them to launder stolen funds. We'll also explore real-world examples of hacks where coin swapping played a major role in laundering stolen crypto across blockchains.