Reports from Chainalysis has found that while China’s share of global criminal crypto flows has been falling since the third quarter of 2019, the country still represents a disproportionate amount of money laundering and scam activity. More than $2.2 billion worth of crypto had been sent from Chinese wallets to addresses which were associated with illicit activities
Chinese addresses also received more than $2 billion worth of digital assets tied to nefarious activity such as scams and darkweb marketplaces. The report says however crime has fallen significantly:
“China’s transaction volume with illicit addresses has fallen drastically over the time period studied, both in terms of raw value and in relation to other countries.”
Chainalysis also added, “While China remains one of the top-ranked countries for illicit transaction volume, it used to beat all others by a wide margin, suggesting that cryptocurrency-related crime in the country has fallen.”
Chainalysis also noted that China’s central government conducted more than 1,100 arrests associated with digital asset-based money laundering indicating a willingness to crack down on the sector. However, speculations that China’s increasing moves to clamp down on traditional decentralized cryptocurrencies may undermine the nation’s status as a global crypto superpower moving forward.
The report attributes China’s renewed hostility toward decentralized crypto assets to its plans for widespread adoption of the digital yuan.