According to the “2024 State of Cryptocurrency Investigations Report” from Chainalysis, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is experiencing a perceived substantial rise in crypto-related crime.

The spike in illicit activity coincides with a speculative shortage in legal resources, impacting the region’s ability to actively address and manage the threat of crypto crime.

“Respondents expect cryptocurrency to be involved with more cases across a wider variety of criminal activities over the next five years.”

Speaking with Cointelegraph, Hayato Shigekawa, principal solutions architect at Chainalysis, explained that:

“The public sector’s recognition of crypto as an asset class continues to grow, and as we’ve seen in this survey, many believe in its potential to transform finance. However, as cryptocurrency becomes mainstream, it is also becoming a channel for all sorts of crime, not just crypto crime.” 

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Legal resource challenges

According to the report, law enforcement agencies in APAC are struggling to tackle the rise in crypto-related crimes, including drug trafficking, cybercrime and intellectual property crime.

Despite the growing importance of crypto crime investigations, many agencies reported a lack of satisfaction with the current legal resources available. 

“Overall, more than half of all respondents said they were either extremely dissatisfied or somewhat dissatisfied with their agency’s staffing resources available for crypto investigation.”

On the topic of legal limitations in the APAC region, Shigekawa told Cointelegraph that:

“In Japan, there are some legal limitations in digital asset forfeiture, whereas in Singapore, digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, can be seized. That said, equally important to such legal frameworks are the advanced solutions to support onchain investigations and comprehensive training programs.”

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APAC negative perceptions

APAC survey respondents tended toward negative perceptions of crypto compared to other regions.

“67.7% of APAC respondents strongly or slightly agreed that cryptocurrency is mainly used by criminals and malicious actors.”

The stark difference in outlook becomes more apparent when contrasted with more optimistic perceptions reported in regions like Latin America and Europe, the Middle East and Africa. 

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Training and educational needs

Given the strong negative perception of crypto in APAC, the report reveals a pressing need for better education on the complexity of cryptocurrencies.

Due to the low rate of satisfaction with staffing and the technical capabilities of limited legal resources, the report highlights a need for technical resources, as emphasized by Shigekawa:

“The data indicates a clear need for enhanced technical resources in many regions, particularly in Latin America and APAC. Investing in advanced technology is essential to address the gaps respondents indicate are impacting their ability to be effective.”

The report also highlighted the need for increased access to educational resources, as almost half of the respondents described themselves as “not very knowledgeable about the asset class.”

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