Only 0.2 percent of all Ripple’s XRP transactions are associated with illegal activity, according to Elliptic, a cryptocurrency tracking company that works with law enforcement agencies. Their analysis of blockchain forensic data revealed that only a small percentage of transactions to exchanges came from illegal sources.
Despite the fact that illegal purchases are a small percentage of XRP transactions, around $400 million has been spent on the dark web this year. Researchers have found that bitcoin illegal transactions are linked to crimes like hacking, money laundering and drug use. However, Ponzi schemes are a major part of XRP criminals.
“The types of activities they found were primarily frauds like Ponzi scams and thefts. Tom Robinson, Elliptic’s chief scientist and cofounder, said that a smaller category includes the sale of credit cards details.
The good news is that XRP enthusiasts have the opportunity to see that criminals are being driven away by the popularity of cryptocurrency within financial institutions.
Although Ripple is regularly grouped with other cryptocurrencies, its purpose is different as it also operates a decentralized payment settlement solution for banks and financial institutions that is fast and scalable. Ripple was in the news recently after it announced a $30 million investment in global money transfer company MoneyGram.
As of this writing, Ripple ranks third on the list of top cryptocurrencies by market cap, behind bitcoin and Ethereum.
Elliptic’s most recent research sample found that around 0.5 per cent of bitcoin market participants use it “primarily for illegal purposes.” However, these low numbers are a reminder about the regulatory risks surrounding crypto space which is loved by criminals who want to keep some anonymity.
Elliptic, a London-based company, has raised $23 million in a round of funding led by Japan’s SBI Holdings. This will help to fund expansion plans in Asia. The company sells blockchain analytics tools to cryptocurrency platforms, as well as banks and law enforcement.
