I always assumed that bitcoin was propped up by purchases from money laundering - so that the total value of bitcoins more or less equalled the 3-5% of global GDP that is illegal / laundered etc.
Once upon a time when I looked at it the numbers seemed to stack up - everyone and their dog just used crypto as one stage in the laundering cycle is the assumption
Why would you do that? Unless your I'll gotten gains are natively already crypto (bitcoin ransomware) adding crypto to the process just makes it way more difficult and traceable. Massive financial machines well integrated into the world banking and political structures already launders money just fine on its own in truely massive quantities.
Once upon a time when I looked at it the numbers seemed to stack up - everyone and their dog just used crypto as one stage in the laundering cycle is the assumption