Only 0.24% of all crypto transactions were from illicit activities in 2022, adding up $20bn. Illicit activities using US Dollars, however, account for 2-5% of global GDP, or around $2 trillion.

As per the title: only 0.24% of crypto transactions in 2022 were from addresses considered to be involved in shady operations. The other ratios for the 2017-2022 period are in the figure below:

Source: Chainalysis

At the same time, the World Economic Forum estimates that 2-5% of the global GDP, or around $2 trillion US Dollars are used in illicit activities over the world. One could make a quick comparison and state that the illicit activity with crypto is 1% of that done with US Dollars. And yet, we're obliged to see headlines like:

Bitcoin: Currency of criminals - Red Bull: here, the subtitle is "Is Bitcoin a friend or foe? It’s difficult to say…It is also used for paying for everything from drug trafficking to arms deals". If your worry is a currency being used on drug trafficking and arms deals, let's just get rid of all fiat.

5 Reasons Why Criminals & Terrorists Turn to Cryptocurrencies: this text mentions "Money laundering, Fraud, Drug trafficking, Human trafficking, Child exploitation" as possible reasons. In the meantime, JPMorgan, which has been bashing crypto for similar reasons over the years, has been sued for facilitating Epstein's operations (see here).

As discussed many times in this sub, crime wasn't invented after crypto and has been perpetuated over the centuries with fiat. Seeing that the percentage decreased when compared to the first time it was measured in 2017 feels good. We have plenty of reasons to repel these sensationalist headlines and texts.

The more well informed we are, the better.