Crypto Assets and Dark Web Crimes: Analysis of New Trends in 2020

Crypto Assets have long been associated by the public with the dark web, money laundering, and other cyber crimes due to their high secrecy and cross-border characteristics. In fact, the dark web is indeed one of the largest application scenarios for Crypto Assets.

In 2013, the "dark web" e-commerce platform Silk Road was shut down by law enforcement, but this did not completely eliminate the dark web. On the contrary, new alternatives continue to emerge, and the scale and number of dark web markets have shown contrary growth. According to statistics, dark web market activity doubled in 2020 compared to 2019.

In April 2020, 530,000 Zoom account passwords were sold on the dark web, with each account priced at only 0.002 cents. These accounts contained user information from several well-known institutions. Analysis suggests that Zoom may have suffered from a credential stuffing attack, where hackers used previously leaked account information for automated filtering and matching. This incident exposed vulnerabilities in Zoom's user data protection.

Crypto Assets play an indispensable role in transactions on the dark web. In the past year, Bitcoin alone set a trading record of over $1 billion in the dark web market. Besides Bitcoin, other Crypto Assets such as Monero, Litecoin, Dash, and Ethereum have also increasingly appeared in illegal transactions.

In March 2020, data from 538 million users of a large domestic social platform was leaked and sold on the dark web. In the same month, the crypto investment fund Tridentt was attacked by hackers, resulting in the leakage of data from 266,000 users. In February 2019, sellers on the dark web market Dream Market were selling information from 620 million users, with transactions conducted via Bitcoin. In August 2018, 500 million pieces of user check-in data from a hotel group were sold on the dark web.

The reason why Crypto Assets are so popular on the dark web is mainly because they do not require third-party financial institutions, allowing for convenient and highly anonymous transactions. Different Crypto Assets have their own characteristics, such as Litecoin which is cheap and fast, Monero which has stronger privacy, and Dash which uses mixing technology to enhance anonymity.

A common method used by hackers for money laundering is to utilize digital currency exchange services to convert Crypto Assets into intermediary currencies like game currency (, and then convert it into fiat currency. They also employ techniques such as splitting and consolidating to evade regulation.

It is expected that 2020 will be a year of increased activity for decentralized crime. Criminal activities may shift to new platforms such as Telegram, Signal, and WhatsApp. Some criminal organizations are even bringing in Crypto Assets experts to provide technical support for illegal activities. This poses new challenges for law enforcement and financial stability.

In response to the challenges posed by Crypto Assets, it is necessary to establish a corresponding regulatory system:

1. Use the KYT) Know Your Transaction( feature to identify suspicious transaction activities.

2. Strengthen information sharing and collaboration between enterprises, regulatory agencies, law enforcement departments, and exchanges.

3. Promote international cooperation and establish cross-border regulatory mechanisms.

4. Play the intermediary role of security companies to promote information sharing among all parties.

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A certain security company has been conducting continuous monitoring through its anti-money laundering compliance and investigation system, assisting in the investigation of criminal cases involving Crypto Assets, and providing effective evidence chains for law enforcement.

Regarding dark web crime, there are two viewpoints: pessimists believe that technology is being abused, while optimists think that experiences can be drawn from it and positive applications of technology can be explored. We should not ignore crypto assets crime, but rather, while recognizing its potential risks, also pay attention to its application prospects.

In the future, close international cooperation and effective use of technology will be key to achieving sound regulation of Crypto Assets. We need to promote the healthy development of Crypto Assets while preventing them from becoming a breeding ground for illegal activities and a disruptor of financial order.

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