Chainalysis has told about its study in a blog post. According to this, he has come to know about hundreds of money laundering cases. Chainalysis said that it has identified 262 users who have sold NFTs to self-financed addresses more than 25 times. The research firm found that more than half lost their money because their wash trading failed to generate interest from original buyers due to increased fees. Although 110 users collectively profited from this activity and managed to earn about $ 8.9 million (about Rs 67 crore).
In the latest preview of our 2022 Crypto Crime Report, we look at #NFTs and crime. Learn how wash trading and money laundering are picking up steam in the NFT space. https://t.co/pJrh6C0tyX
— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) February 2, 2022
Chainalysis did not mention NFT platforms in this study, but said that its finding only included NFTs purchased with Ether.
While the potential for NFT-based money laundering is relatively low compared to money laundering based on cryptocurrencies, it is worth noting that this activity is on the rise.
The firm says that cases of money laundering make it difficult to build trust in NFTs and should be monitored more closely by the marketplace, regulators and law enforcement.
Speaking to CoinDesk, Chainalysis’s Head of Research, Kim Grauer, says that the idea of engaging in crime via NFTs is not a good idea, as it is expensive. It is difficult to guarantee that if you do wash trading, you will be profitable. If you want to use NFT for money laundering, it can be traced. Obviously, such things reduce the trust of the people in the cryptocurrency and NFT market and also force many countries to regulate this sector.
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