Data illustrating the scope of illegal cryptocurrency activity in Southeast Asia have been released by Bitrace, a renowned blockchain analytics company. The revelations cast doubt on widely held media narratives and provide a more thorough understanding of the region’s crypto ecosystem.
The anonymity, decentralisation, and borderlessness of cryptocurrencies have made them popular among Southeast Asian criminal organisations. They are involved in a variety of things, including internet gambling, fraud, and money laundering. These distinctive qualities of digital currencies have increased the covertness of illicit activities and facilitated the quick transfer of illicit funds. The main currency used in these unlawful activities stands out as Tether (USDT), a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar.
According to Bitrace’s findings, in 2022, a startling 115 billion USDT was connected to unlawful and gambling activities that fell within their jurisdiction.
Looking more closely at how this enormous quantity was used, we can see that 371.6 billion USDT was used for online gambling, 697.8 billion USDT was set aside for money laundering, and a far lesser amount—less than 4.6 billion USDT—was used for fraudulent schemes.
Various trading platforms are affected by this unauthorised USDT influx. These actions contributed around 14.6 billion USDT to trading platform accounts in 2022 alone. Despite the fact that big platforms unintentionally handle a sizable portion of these transactions, there is a definite preference among Southeast Asian illegal crypto operators and gamblers, primarily Chinese, for specific exchanges.
However, despite these difficulties, the openness of blockchain ledgers shines as a light. With a wide range of address labels and open-source intelligence at their disposal, Bitrace’s staff is able to successfully track down funds associated with unlawful cryptocurrency activity.
In conclusion, it is critical to crack down on the illegitimate usage of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, notably USDT, since cryptocurrencies continue to be investigated for their links to unlawful activities.