This paper examines the relationship between cryptocurrency and illicit finance, challenging prevalent misconceptions about their role in criminal behavior through four key findings backed by data and case studies:

• Misinformation about blockchain technology spreads rapidly and persistently, often outpacing factual understanding of its capabilities and limitations.
• There is no fundamental difference between traditional financial crime and cryptocurrency-enabled crime–criminals have simply added digital assets to their existing toolkits.
• Contrary to popular perception, blockchains are not opaque but rather provide unprecedented transparency, enabling groundbreaking successes in tracking and preventing illicit finance.
• While autocratic regimes do exploit cryptocurrency, their methods reveal more about their behavioral patterns than any inherent vulnerability in the technology.