You are right that it is not even remotely similar without a doubt. Fiat has been used for "illicit" stuff for decades, even centuries and we should not be comparing bitcoin or crypto with the same logic. Obviously, crypto will be used as well but we need to realize that its not going to be the same. It is clear that we are not seeing anything that would be considered alright by authorities and in the end crypto will be checked as well, and yet it will never be close to fiat. This drop shows that crypto is getting more secure while most of the other people who use fiat are still going strong.
It would have been good if we can see a comparison between the amount of crypto used for illicit activities versus the amount of fiat used for the same purpose. I guess the amount for cryptocurrencies would be smaller if compared to the amount of USD used in illicit activities and not to talk of other fiat or countries.
The reasons for the decrease could be because some bad actors which used crypto for illicit activities are getting known and revealed. Cryptocurrencies is not as anonymous as people thought it is, therefore having fiat as their preferences. Or because the bull run is not yet significant enough.
It is also worth to know that bitcoin used in illicit activities has been decreasing and taken over by USDT and other stable coins that are backed by fiat.Usdt and other stable coins are centralized and can be frozen by the issuers in any wallet that it is stored in, so i don't think any scammer would use these coins for illicit tx's.
Usdt and other stable coins are centralized and can be frozen by the issuers in any wallet that it is stored in, so i don't think any scammer would use these coins for illicit tx's.I am lazy to do more research about this but in accordance to what I have been reading in late 2023, according to a research which was not Chainanalyis research, Stablecoins, especially USDT was used most in illicit activities. Not more than 2 weeks after that research report came out, Chainanalysis report also came out which was not in full like it is now but like in summary before this report came out which also stated the same thing last year forth quarter. Also it is stated in the full report.