Stephanie Hughes

Cryptocurrency is being used more frequently in illegal transactions.

About $158 billion was used in illicit crypto activity last year, an all-time high.

That's according to a new report from the startup TRM Labs.

This comes as the overall crypto ecosystem is growing.

And it should be said legitimate uses of crypto are growing at a faster rate than illegitimate ones.

I talked about all this with Ari Redboard, one of the authors of the new report.

You mentioned sanctions.

Sanctions-related crypto activity rose over 400% last year, making it the largest contributor to this rise.

Sanctions can prohibit transactions with certain countries or individuals.

They can be broad or narrow.

Tell me what you think is happening here.

Yeah.

Tell me a little bit more about that.

You know, in the report, there's this line that, you know, this growth points to the idea that crypto is helping build a shadow economy alongside the legitimate economy.

Can you tell me a little bit more about what that means?

Is there any answer to that?

You know, you guys think about solutions, like how do you conquer that kind of growth?

We'll be right back.

You're listening to Marketplace Tech.

I'm Stephanie Hughes.