Chainalysis says crypto flows linked to suspected human trafficking surged in 2025, rising about 85% and reaching “hundreds of millions of dollars” across identified services — a jump that researchers warn could reshape how the industry and law enforcement view illicit use of digital assets. The firm’s 2026 Crypto Crime Report, released Thursday, tracks payments tied to international escort networks, labor-recruitment channels for Southeast Asian scam compounds, and vendors of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Chainalysis’ intelligence analyst Tom McLouth told Decrypt the findings represent “an industry-defining” look at how crypto is being leveraged across multiple forms of exploitation. “I haven’t seen anyone talk about human trafficking holistically within the current crypto ecosystem and how it’s being leveraged,” he said. Scope and verification Some coverage has cited a rise to roughly $260 million in crypto tied to suspected trafficking operations in 2025; Decrypt was not able to independently verify that specific figure. A Chainalysis spokesperson clarified the company measures inflows to addresses it has linked to human-trafficking or CSAM operators and provided a conservative range — “hundreds of millions” — rather than a single total, calling their estimate a lower bound. How payments differ by category Chainalysis’ blockchain tracing shows distinct patterns by activity: - Telegram-based international escort networks: 48.8% of transfers exceeded $10,000 in 2025. - Prostitution networks: roughly 62% of transactions fell between $1,000 and $10,000. - Labor-recruitment payments for trafficking: typically $1,000–$10,000. - CSAM vendors: generally much smaller payments, with about half under $100. One CSAM site cited in the report used more than 5,800 cryptocurrency addresses and processed over $530,000 since July 2022. Separately, the Internet Watch Foundation logged more than 312,000 reports of child sexual abuse imagery in 2025. Geography, rails and payment rails Blockchain flows traced funds from the U.S., UK, Brazil, Spain and Australia into Southeast Asian hubs. Chainalysis also notes many publicly accessible CSAM sites rely on U.S.-based hosting — a choice McLouth links to perpetrators targeting English-speaking victims and perceived wealthier markets. Bitcoin remains widely used, but the report highlights growing reliance on stablecoins among prostitution and labor-trafficking networks, which can then be converted into local currency through Chinese-language money-laundering channels. CSAM operators increasingly turn to privacy coins like Monero to obscure transaction details. Platforms and infrastructure Criminal operations that once relied primarily on the dark web are now using mainstream platforms. Chainalysis points to Telegram-based “guarantee services” — for example Tudou and Xinbi — that hold crypto in escrow until payments are confirmed, along with Telegram recruitment channels tied to Southeast Asian scam compounds. McLouth notes Telegram has taken some action against these networks; in response, some guarantee services have spun up third-party apps that were even advertised on Apple’s and Google’s app stores. Decrypt contacted Telegram for comment. Context and implications The report arrives amid renewed scrutiny of crypto’s ties to high-profile criminal probes — including Justice Department disclosures about early crypto ties to Jeffrey Epstein and media attention around a reported Bitcoin ransom demand in the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie, mother of NBC’s Savannah Guthrie. McLouth cautions, however, that systemic, large-scale crypto-linked crime is harder to personalize than cases tied to famous individuals. “We’re not able to say this one specific person is doing this one specific crime,” he said. Chainalysis stresses that fiat still plays the dominant role in trafficking finance, and that crypto should not be cast as the root cause. “From the perspective of crypto, we want to emphasize that crypto isn’t enabling the crime,” McLouth said. “Crypto is allowing us to expose it, and provides new opportunities for countering it and having these discussions based on the fact that we haven’t been able to have previously.” Looking ahead Chainalysis warns the trends don’t bode well for 2026 and calls for a broader conversation on enforcement, accountability and platform responsibility. McLouth urged the industry to treat the findings as more than statistics: “This is real human trafficking, real sex trafficking, real labor trafficking. These are real people being affected.” Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

#BTC