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Chainalysis says that illegal on-chain activities reached more than $82 billion in 2025, which is more than eight times the amount recorded in 2020. This is the highest level of cryptocurrency-based money laundering ever seen.
The tremendous rise in money laundering is due to the quick professionalization of laundering networks, many of which work mostly in Mandarin and have become into structured, high-capacity financial services for criminal groups.
The Chainalysis research from January 27, 2026, says that Chinese-language Money Laundering Networks (CMLNs) are one of the main groups that move illegal crypto around the world. These networks are currently responsible for about 20% of all known illegal bitcoin activity throughout the world. Since 2020, money moving through CMLNs has risen 7,325 times faster than money moving through centralized exchanges and 1,810 times faster than money moving through DeFi protocols. CMLNs moved an estimated $16.1 billion in illegal money in 2025 alone, or about $44 million per day, through more than 1,799 active wallets.
The networks are like a full-service business. They have six main sorts of services: “running point” brokers that provide you first access to bank accounts and exchange profiles; money mule networks for layering transactions; informal over-the-counter desks; and “Black U” services that publicly trade illegal proceeds at lower prices. Telegram-based “guarantee” services work as both escrow and reputation hubs, connecting buyers and sellers while keeping things running smoothly even when law enforcement actions shut down some channels.
Telegram as Important Infrastructure
Telegram is becoming the main way these businesses work. Guarantee platforms on the messaging app operate as impartial middlemen, helping criminals and money laundering providers trust each other without actually transferring money. When authorities take down certain channels or accounts, operators rapidly move to new ones to keep things running smoothly. Chain alysis says that this flexibility is a sign of the networks’ maturity—they are professional, open, and organized in ways that are similar to real financial institutions.
The fact that USDT is built on Tron is still a crucial factor. Tron’s low fees and quick settlement times make it perfect for moving a lot of money quickly, and USDT’s huge liquidity and wide acceptance make it a stable dollar counterpart outside of controlled financial systems. This combination has made it easy for criminals and sanctioned parties to shift money across borders with little trouble.
Links to bigger criminal networks
The networks don’t work alone. Chainalysis connects CMLNs to bigger international crimes, such pig slaughtering frauds that have stolen billions of dollars from people all around the world. In 2025, more than 10% of the money made from pig butchering went through these Mandarin-language outlets. The research also shows links to other illegal operations, like giving money to parties like the Houthis in Yemen.
Read also: Crypto Crime 2024: Tether, Bitcoin, and the Surge in Pig Butchering Scams
Earlier study from TRM Labs, published on January 9, 2026, found that two UK-registered companies, Zedcex Exchange Ltd and Zedxion Exchange Ltd, were the main processing centers for IRGC-linked movements. Since 2023, such companies have handled around $1 billion in transactions related to the IRGC. Of that amount, 56% was linked to IRGC addresses or affiliates. The fact that state-linked and criminal networks overlap shows how the same infrastructure may be used for different things when there are sanctions.
Response from law enforcement and ongoing problems
The authorities have done something, but the outcomes are still not very good. In 2025, the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) named Huione Group as a money laundering concern. Since then, both the U.S. and the U.K. have put sanctions on many groups linked to CMLNs. Chainalysis says that enforcement has mostly gone after visible platforms instead of core operators, which has let the networks adapt swiftly despite these problems.
The fact that these businesses are decentralized and use public blockchains makes them strong. Once money gets into the system, it’s very hard to trace because it quickly changes hands through mixers like Tornado Cash and is sent back to Iran through domestic exchanges (Nobitex, Wallex, Aban Tether) or Turkish payment providers.
CMLNs are big and complicated, which shows one of the biggest problems with digital assets: public blockchains make it easier for people to communicate, but they also provide sanctioned actors additional ways to keep their businesses going. Stablecoins on Tron have worked especially well for this because they are cheap, fast, and have a lot of liquidity.
The results make things hard for regulators. In emerging economies, where stablecoins are widely used to send money and keep value, blanket bans on them could hurt legitimate users. Allowing free flows at the same time lets people get around big sanctions. The balance is still hard to find.
Chainalysis says that cryptocurrency will probably still be an important tool for both regular people and sanctioned groups in Iran and places like it. As the economy continues to be unstable and countries put pressure on each other, the same infrastructure that helps people who are dealing with capital controls also helps state-affiliated players who want to get around the rules.
The report is both a warning and an example. Public blockchains can help people who don’t have access to banking services and make them more resilient in tough situations. However, they also make it harder to follow the rules and punish people who break them on a scale that traditional techniques for punishing people can’t handle. In the years to come, one of the most important jobs for regulators will be to find effective remedies that don’t stifle real innovation.
