Crypto crime rose exponentially from 2020 to 2021.

According to a new report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, scammers utilizing decentralized finance platforms, also known as “DeFi,” stole an estimated $14 billion in assorted cryptocurrency for the entirety of 2021. Crypto-related crime spiked by about 71% from 2020 to 2021 as accounts were hacked and people were swindled out of their crypto stashes.

According to Chainalysis, the rise of DeFi platforms, which removes middlemen like banks from the equation of transactions, has also given rise to a number of scammers using its decentralized nature to their advantage.

“DeFi is one of the most exciting areas of the wider cryptocurrency ecosystem, presenting huge opportunities to entrepreneurs and cryptocurrency users alike,” Chainalysis wrote in their report. “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.”

As DeFi platforms are so attractive to crypto investors, commerce on them exploded by 912% in 2021, with currencies like shiba inu coin rising in value to match. However, the process by which DeFi transactions are performed is still a very young technology, and as such, is full of exploitable security holes. Scammers have used these holes to steal investment funds in false cryptocurrencies, such as the infamous Squid coin incident in which billions were lost to a fake crypto inspired by the show Squid Game.

“Given the hype around DeFi, people may have been more okay with using less secure platforms due to a fear of missing out on potential gains,” Kim Grauer, Chainalysis’ head of research, told CNBC.

On the upside, as all crypto transactions are heavily monitored by design, it does make it easier for authorities to track down scam operations, and in fact, it was this very transparency that allowed Chainalysis to compile their report.