Speaking at EthCC in Paris, former Elliptic crypto consultant Tara Annison discussed the various ways digital assets can facilitate crime or be used to launder money.
According to Annison, Bitcoin BTC 0.27% is no longer the cryptocurrency of choice for illegal activities or money laundering.
As the cryptocurrency industry matures, the establishment of DeFi protocols, mixing services, and stablecoins offers criminals new avenues to explore.
Criminals have turned to dollar-denominated assets like USDC for their ease of access and ability to launder money through DEXs.
Highlighting a potential silver lining from a law enforcement perspective, Annison noted that centralized issuers like Circle could freeze specific USDC tokens before criminals exit assets into fiat via a DEX or centralized exchange.
