Cryptocurrency-based crime hit a new record high in 2021, nearly double the figure from the year before, but at a far slower rate than the growth of the overall market.

That’s according to data from Chainalysis Inc., which notes that although the headline cryptocurrency crime figure may seem bad, it does not tell the whole story. While cryptocurrency crime hit $14 billion, up 79% from 2020, overall cryptocurrency transactions grew a stunning 567% last year, to $15.8 trillion.

“Given that roaring adoption, it’s no surprise that more cybercriminals are using cryptocurrency,” Chainalysis said. “But the fact that the increase was just 79% — nearly an order of magnitude lower than overall adoption — might be the biggest surprise of all.”

The share of crime-based cryptocurrency transactions dropped to 0.15% in 2021, down from 0.62% in 2020 and  3.37% in 2019.

Chainalysis notes that the drop in the share of illegal transactions is in part thanks to increased law enforcement activity. Law enforcement activity includes the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission taking action against investment scams and the Federal Bureau of Investigation targeting the REvil ransomware gang.

That’s not to suggest criminal abuse of cryptocurrency isn’t a significant issue, with the report saying that such activity creates impediments for continued adoption and drives restrictions being imposed by governments.

Of the $14 billion in cryptocurrency crimes in 2021, scamming led the pack, up 82%, to $7.8 billion, in 2021. Some $2.8 billion of that scam figure included what Chainalysis describes as “rug pulls,” where developers build what appears to be a legitimate cryptocurrency project before taking investors’ money, a more specific form of an “exit scam.”

Moreover, 90% of the total lost in rug pulls in 2021 can be attributed to Thodex, an exchange that was shut down, with its chief executive officer disappearing. Most of the other scams involved DeFi projects.

Old-fashioned cryptocurrency theft was next on the list at $3.2 billion, up 516% from 2020. About $2.2 billion of that was stolen from DeFi protocols. Issues surrounding DeFi were the highlight of the year, although, like the broader market, the sector has also grown far more quickly than the level of crime.

“DeFi is one of the most exciting areas of the wider cryptocurrency ecosystem, presenting huge opportunities to entrepreneurs and cryptocurrency users alike,” the report notes. “But DeFi is unlikely to realize its full potential if the same decentralization that makes it so dynamic also allows for widespread scamming and theft.”

The report concludes by noting that the public and private sectors must work together to ensure that users can transact safely and that criminals can’t abuse these new assets.

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