- Analysts from Dune Analytics came to such conclusions
- Fake auctions account for 42% of total industry sales
- In many ways, this is facilitated by “distributions” such as the one arranged in Blur.
Suspicious transactions account for 42% of total NFT sales, according to Dune Analytics. This is 31.2 out of $73.8 billion. In recent months, the number of such transactions has increased significantly, which, among other things, was facilitated by the reward system of the Blur marketplace.
We previously wrote about the first and second wave of airdrops on this platform. The platform’s reward system caused outrage among crypto experts. The administration was accused of aggressive marketing, “pumping up” the value of the native token and increasing fictitious trading.
But, unfortunately, the recent trend towards money laundering through NFTs is only is growing. About it declares and an analyst with the nickname “hildobby”. And although the peak of this trend has already passed (it was reached in 2021), the problem remains relevant:
It is noteworthy that most fictitious transactions are in the segment of cheap tokens. Such transactions come across both on the “top” marketplaces and on less popular, specialized sites.
But according to Moulié, the top 29 NFT trading resources account for 42% of the total fictitious trading volume. And this “shadow segment” seems to fall out of the sight of state bodies.
Compared to cryptocurrencies, where the volume of such transactions is $8.9 billion, it looks insignificant. And that is why criminals are increasingly choosing NFTs to “whitewash” their income.
The Worst of the Worst
Of these platforms, two stand out. These are LooksRare and X2Y2. Here, almost the entire volume of NFT trading is associated with illegal activities, 94.7% and 85%, respectively.
At the same time, they account for the volume of processed transactions in the amount of $ 32 billion. In fact, these are the two main violators of AML legislation.
The last places in the anti-rating are Sudoswap and BitKeep. Here, fictitious trading accounts for 11% and 12.8% of turnover, respectively.
How does this threaten the industry?
There are two main reasons for such activities – “pumping” the value of the collection or “laundering” funds. The first is even worse than the second. In this case, ordinary users who risk losing their funds are drawn into the scheme.
Ultimately, this undermines confidence not only in the site, but also in the segment as a whole. That is why large marketplaces should introduce measures to control this activity.
One of these is the abandonment of the reward system, similar to the one introduced by the Blur administration. This also includes restrictions on trading, when NFTs cannot be re-listed immediately after the transaction.
