Use of mixers in illegal cryptocurrency transactions reaches ATH in 2022

Blockchain data firm Chainalysis released a report on the use of mixers in cryptocurrency transactions. And as the data show, the use of these software in illicit transactions reached 10%, the highest percentage in the historical series of the report.

According to the company, the use of mixers in illicit transactions is greater than the sum for other uses. Chainalysis points out that these tools are not just for committing crimes, but that no other use has had a relevant participation.

“The core functionality of mixers makes them naturally attractive to cybercriminals, as they rarely ask for information from users. In fact, nearly 10% of all funds sent from illicit addresses went through mixers. No other type of service accounted for a share greater than 0.3%,” the company said.

Mixers are tools that serve to hide the origin of cryptocurrency transactions, preventing or hindering tracking. Although associated with committing crimes, mixers also serve to protect the financial privacy of their users.

In this sense, they act as important protection tools, especially for people who live under oppressive governments or who prohibit the use of cryptocurrencies. Thanks to mixers, these people can carry out their transactions without risking arrest.

BRL 280 million in transactions

In addition to the high percentage, the values ​​moved with the use of mixers also recorded historical highs. To identify these values, Chainalysis uses a moving average of values ​​moved by mixers in the last 30 days.

According to this indicator, the mixers moved US$ 51.8 million in cryptocurrencies on April 19, 2022. It represents a 100% increase over the same period. of 2021.

However, the survey also shows that this number has been on a downward trend for the past three months. Since the peak of April, the use of mixers has dropped by more than 50% in terms of value and today corresponds to less than US$ 10 million.

Chainalysis highlights which factors have led to a large increase in the volume of transactions with mixers, with remittances from exchanges constituting a large portion of these operations.

“The increases mainly come from the increase in higher volume sent from centralized exchanges, DeFi protocols, and especially addresses connected to illicit activities. DeFi protocols in particular have increased not only in terms of value sent to mixers, but also in terms of share of all volume sent,” the company says.

Even addresses belonging to entities that have received sanctions from governments have recorded increases in resource submissions by mixers. Hydra Marketplace, for example, accounts for 50% of illicit transactions via mixers, while the Lazarus hacking group carried out 30% of these transactions.