What is the scale of illicit crypto usage in the UK, and what are the best ways to improve the existing understanding of scale?
Background
Many economic crimes are by their nature hidden, occur internationally and are typically
under-identified and under-reported. It is therefore challenging to accurately measure the
scale or prevalence of different types of economic crime.
It should be noted that in terms of measuring the scale of fraud, the landscape is more mature compared to other types of economic crime; for example, the CSEW regularly measures the scale and nature of fraud against individuals. The ARIs in this group focus on particular areas of the scale of the problem and measuring the threat on which further evidence would be helpful and extend our pre-existing evidence base
Next steps
Get in touch with NECC-IF-Research@nca.gov.uk EconomicCrimeResearch@homeoffice.gov.uk
Source
This question was published as part of the set of ARIs in this document:
Economic Crime Areas of Research Interest ARI report July 2025 1
Topics
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Related UKRI funded projects
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COVID-19: Monitoring the effects of the pandemic on illicit online trade
The pandemic has reshaped the demand for goods and services worldwide. Economic stress, the public health emergency and disinformation-driven panic have pushed customers, and vendors, towards the shadow economy. In parti...
Funded by: COVID
Why might this be relevant?
The project specifically focuses on monitoring dark web trading, including the use of cryptocurrencies, which is directly related to illicit crypto usage in the UK.
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How Online Technologies are Transforming Transnational Organised Crime (Cyber-TNOC)
The role of online technologies in organised crime is growing, as it is in wider society. Traditionally, organised criminals would threaten or (in the UK) much less often resort to the use of violence and intimidation to...
Funded by: ESRC
Why might this be relevant?
The project discusses the use of online technologies by transnational organised crime groups, which is related to the broader issue of illicit crypto usage in the UK.
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Identifying Money Laundering On The Blockchain
As financial crime becomes increasingly sophisticated, traditional anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) systems struggle to keep pace, particularly in decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockch...
Funded by: Innovate UK
Lead research organisation: UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM
Why might this be relevant?
The project focuses on identifying money laundering on the blockchain, which is related to illicit crypto usage, but does not specifically address the scale of illicit crypto usage in the UK.