The web3 and cryptocurrency space is becoming increasingly more advanced, but with tech breakthroughs there also come significant new challenges. According to Elliptic’s State of Cross-Chain Crime report, illicit activities involving cross-chain transactions have surged, with over $21.8 billion in illicit or high-risk crypto laundered through decentralized exchanges (DEXs), cross-chain bridges, and no-KYC coin swap services as of this year.
This marks a threefold increase from the $7 billion reported in 2023 and a fivefold jump from $4.1 billion in 2022, highlighting the growing complexity of crypto-related financial crime.
Alongside this alarming trend, Elliptic has announced a significant step forward in combating such threats through its integration with Starknet, a layer-2 scaling solution, to bolster compliance and monitoring capabilities for blockchain transactions.
Elliptic’s report reveals that cross-chain crime, defined as the anonymous movement of illicit funds across multiple blockchains, has become a preferred method for cybercriminals.
Techniques like “chain-hopping,” where assets are rapidly swapped across different blockchains to obscure transaction trails, are increasingly common.
The report notes that 33% of complex cross-chain investigations involve more than three blockchains, 27% span over five, and 20% involve ten or more.
This fragmentation poses significant challenges for compliance teams and law enforcement, as tracing funds across multiple networks requires sophisticated tools and broad blockchain visibility.
A significant portion of this illicit activity is linked to state-backed actors, with North Korea’s Lazarus Group alone accounting for approximately 12% of the $21.8 billion, roughly $2.5 billion.
The group has been implicated in high-profile hacks, including the record-breaking $1.46 billion Bybit heist, where stolen funds were laundered through multi-chain paths.
Elliptic’s analysis also flagged $300 million in cross-chain transfers originating from Iranian crypto services under U.S. sanctions, as well as the Russian exchange Garantex, seized in March 2025 with Elliptic’s data support.
These cases underscore how sanctioned entities exploit decentralized infrastructure to bypass traditional financial restrictions.
Beyond nation-state actors, the report highlights a surge in industrialized crypto scams.
The CBEX scam, which defrauded nearly $1 billion, used DEXs and bridges to launder funds while posing as a legitimate investment platform.
The 2024-25 memecoin craze further fueled fraud, exemplified by the $LIBRA token’s $100 million rug-pull following a price surge triggered by a post from Argentina’s President Javier Milei.
Dr. Arda Akartuna, Elliptic’s Lead Crypto Threat Researcher, emphasized that while criminals exploit the crypto ecosystem’s complexity, advanced analytics can counter these threats.
Elliptic’s platform, covering 55 blockchains and over 300 bridging combinations, enables real-time monitoring and tracing, reducing the effort required for investigations.
In a move to enhance its fight against such crimes, Elliptic announced its integration with Starknet.
Starknet, a layer-2 solution built on Ethereum, offers scalability and low-cost transactions, making it a growing hub for decentralized applications.
By integrating with Starknet, Elliptic empowers compliance teams to monitor wallet activity and transactions on this network with professional-grade tools.
This integration is critical as Starknet’s adoption grows, providing a new layer of visibility into transactions that could be exploited for illicit purposes.
Elliptic’s analytics, including its Virtual Value Transfer Events (VVTEs), allow for automated tracing of cross-chain transactions, enabling investigators to track fund flows in seconds rather than hours.
This capability is vital as criminals diversify their tactics, using privacy coins, gas fee financing, and asset swaps to evade detection.
Elliptic’s tools have been fairly effective, supporting over 500 global financial institutions and aiding law enforcement in cases like the Garantex seizure.
As the crypto ecosystem becomes increasingly multi-chain, Elliptic’s integration with Starknet and its cross-chain analytics aim to offer a defense against the rising tide of illicit activity.
By providing real-time insights and scalable solutions, Elliptic is focused on helping safeguard the future of blockchain developments while tackling the $22 billion challenge of cross-chain crime head-on.