Mapping the research landscape on virtual assets in terrorism financing and money laundering: a hybrid TCCM and bibliometric analysis

Abstract

This study investigates the research landscape with respect to virtual assets that are involved in financial crime, with a focus on terrorism financing and money laundering. This study employs a bibliometric analysis of 796 peer-reviewed articles retrieved from the Scopus Database (2000–2024). Bibliometrics and VOSviewer software will be used to visualize and quantify the characteristics of the literature. These quantitative data are made sense of through a Theory, Context, Characteristics and Methodology (TCCM) framework and are useful for organizing the review and identifying the strategic gaps within the existing body of knowledge. The bibliometric analysis of the data revealed that the number of publications about virtual assets and crimes related to them has significantly increased since 2017. The first level of clusters that developed consisted of regulatory structures, forensics on blockchain technology, digital evidence and the implications of policy based on cryptocurrency and financial crime. A TCCM framework was used in this analysis to identify gaps in the existing bibliography regarding theoretical foundations, context-related issues (such as cross-border enforcement) and methods of investigating these two topics. This hybrid-review contribution serves as a starting point to help stakeholders (researchers, practitioners and policymakers) understand existing trends in the literature related to virtual assets and financial crime, as well as a structured plan for future work. Furthermore, the review reveals an immediate need to better integrate forensic science in collaboration with developing stronger and more comprehensive investigative practices in addressing the financial crime facilitated through cryptocurrency technologies.