The findings reveal a significant decrease in the volume of cryptocurrency transactions from $49.5 billion in 2022 to $34.8 billion in 2023. This decline exceeded the 22% reduction seen in the overall cryptocurrency transaction volume during the same period. In addition to the overall decrease, the total value of funds sent to sanctioned addresses and entities also shrank from $25.4 billion in 2022 to $16.2 billion in 2023, according to TRM Labs.
This decline was attributed to increased pressure from governments and law enforcement bodies. Last year also witnessed a three-fold rise in sanctions against crypto-related businesses and individuals. The data indicates that the combined revenue of darknet marketplaces surged to nearly $2 billion in 2023, a 25% increase from the previous year.
Furthermore, Chainalysis highlighted the emergence of two new darknet marketplaces, actively promoting their offerings in Moscow following Hydra’s collapse.
