Chainalysis: 4,068 criminal whales hold a total of $25 billion in cryptocurrency

The report defines criminal whales as private wallets with more than $1 million worth of cryptocurrency, with more than 10% of the balance coming from illicit addresses.

According to Chainalysis data, 4,068 criminal whales (about 4% of all whales) hold more than $25 billion worth of cryptocurrencies.

The blockchain analysis firm defines a criminal whale as any private wallet holding more than $1 million worth of cryptocurrency, with more than 10 percent of the funds coming from illicit addresses linked to activities such as scams, fraud, and malware.

The data comes from the “Criminal Balances” section of the Crypto Crime Report, which examines blockchain crime in 2021 and early 2022. The extensive report also covers topics such as ransomware, malware, darknet markets, and NFT-related crime.

“Overall, Chainalysis has identified 4,068 criminal whales holding over $25 billion worth of cryptocurrency. Criminal whales represent 3.7% of all crypto whales — private wallets holding over $1 million worth of cryptocurrency ."

The data showed 1374 whales had 10% to 25% of their balances from illicit sources, while 1361 whales had 90% to 100% of their balances with illicit funds. Those whales with 25% to 90% illicit fund balances totaled 1,333.

Chainalysis: 4,068 criminal whales hold a total of $25 billion in cryptocurrency

Percentage of balances obtained by whales through illicit addresses: Chainalysis


"While stolen funds dominate the overall criminal funds balance, darknet markets are the largest source of illicit funds to criminal whales, followed by scams and third by stolen funds," the report reads.
illegal trading activities

In terms of illicit transaction activity, criminal addresses received more than $14 billion in 2021, a staggering 79% increase compared to $7.8 million in 2020, the report shows.