Crypto-Assets Illicit Activities: Theoretical Approach with Empirical Review

Abstract

Transnationality, enabled by global processes and the rapid development of the Internet, has led to the creation of new dynamics of criminal activities, where cyberspace becomes a place, goal and mean of committing criminal activities. The aim of this paper is to present criminal activities related to crypto-assets in a coherent and concise way. The misuse of crypto-assets will be investigated in a systematic way, especially from the perspective of financial fraud and in the context of white-collar crime. The paper will present the characteristics of cryptocurrencies that make them suitable for criminal activities. The empirical analysis will explore the role of cryptocurrencies within traditional criminal activities but also within cyber-dependent crimes. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the theoretical perspective of crypto-assets abuse and the taxonomy of criminal acts related to crypto-assets.