As US Bitcoin Reserve stalls, Chainalysis flags $75B in seizable crypto

Chainalysis says $75 billion in crypto tied to illicit activity could be recoverable — a figure that may influence nations weighing official crypto reserves.

As the United States and other countries weigh the prospect of building national cryptocurrency reserves, new research from Chainalysis suggests governments may already be within reach of tens of billions of dollars in potentially recoverable onchain assets — a development that could intersect with those reserve discussions.

In a report published Thursday, Chainalysis estimated that crypto balances linked to illicit activity exceed $75 billion. That total includes roughly $15 billion held directly by illicit entities and more than $60 billion in wallets with downstream exposure to those entities.

The blockchain analytics company said darknet market operators and vendors control more than $40 billion in crypto assets on the blockchain.

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