Illegal Crypto Activity Surges in 2025, Chainalysis Finds

TheNewsCryptoPublished on 2026-01-09Last updated on 2026-01-09

Abstract

According to a Chainalysis report, illegal cryptocurrency activity surged by 162% in 2025, reaching approximately $154 billion, up from $59 billion in 2024. This significant increase was primarily driven by sanctioned entities and nation-states, such as Russia, using blockchain networks to evade financial restrictions. The report highlighted that 2025 marked a turning point, with unprecedented on-chain activity reflecting greater sophistication and coordination among these actors. Stablecoins accounted for about 84% of illegal transaction volume due to their stability and ease of cross-border transfer. Despite the sharp rise, illegal transactions still represent less than 1% of total on-chain activity.

The illegal crypto activity has unexpectedly surged in 2025 as sanctioned nation capitals and bodies have used blockchain networks to avoid financial restrictions, as per the 8th January report of Chainalysis.

In 2025, the overall illegal crypto addresses accumulated around $154 billion, showing a 162% increase from $59 billion in 2024, as per the report. The increase was mainly influenced by sanctioned bodies moving funds on-chain at scale.

Chainalysis reported that 2025 was a turning point, mentioning unprecedented volumes linked with the on-chain behaviour of nation-states and referring to it as the recent phase in the evolution of the illegal crypto ecosystem.

The firm further highlighted that the scale and coordination of activity were not similar to previous years, showing increasing sophistication among sanctioned actors. Russia, which has experienced extensive international sanctions since its capturing of Ukraine, came up as a major contributor to the increase.

In February last year, the country introduced a ruble-supported token named A7A5. The token generated over $93.3 billion in transactions in less than one year, the report mentions. The growth of sanctions over the world has accelerated pressure on sanctioned parties to look for an alternative payment system.

The Increased Activity

The Global Sanctions Inflation Index approximated in May that around 80,000 bodies and individuals were under sanctions over the globe. Research from the Center for a New American Security stated that the US introduced 3,135 more bodies to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List in 2024, the highest annual total on record.

Stablecoins accounted for about 84% of all illegal transaction volume last year, Chainalysis reported. The company accredited their prevalence to price stability, easy cross-border transfers, and widespread liquidity, highlighting that the same features influencing legitimate adoption have also captivated sanctioned users.

Regardless of the sharp increase in illegal volumes, criminal activity is still a small fraction of the total crypto economy. Illegal transactions are still 1% less as compared to overall on-chain activity; however, their share increased comparatively year over year.

Highlighted Crypto News Today:

Ethereum Struggles Below $3,300 as US Demand and ETF Flows Weaken

Storage Giants Are Raking It In, Downstream Players Are Struggling to Cope

Global memory storage giants have reported record-breaking earnings, with downstream clients now struggling to bear the soaring costs. SK Hynix's Q2 operating profit surged 557%, while Samsung's DS division hit a historic high. Chinese firms like GigaDevice and Jiangbolong also saw profits skyrocket. However, this profit surge for memory makers translates directly into higher costs for their customers. The boom is largely driven by AI server demand, which consumes high-bandwidth memory (HBM) at the expense of traditional DRAM supply. While cloud providers may accept higher prices, the strain is breaking downstream sectors. In smartphones, memory now comprises over 20% of device costs, even surpassing the main chip in flagship models. This has led manufacturers like OPPO and vivo to reportedly reject further price hikes from suppliers like Samsung. The PC and consumer electronics segments are also weakening, with spot market prices already falling sharply. The industry faces a turning point. Long-term supply agreements are locking in high prices but also capping further increases. As downstream clients from phones to servers push back against unsustainable costs, the memory super-cycle may be approaching a sudden end, driven not by supply shifts but by collapsing demand.

marsbit13m ago

Storage Giants Are Raking It In, Downstream Players Are Struggling to Cope

marsbit13m ago

BIT Research: Two Major Bearish Factors Continue to Weigh on the Market, Why is Bitcoin Still Near the Cycle Bottom?

Market remains under pressure from a hawkish Federal Reserve and fading regulatory optimism, yet Bitcoin demonstrates resilience near cycle lows. Despite Chairman Kevin Walsh's firm stance keeping Treasury yields elevated and the probability of the CLARITY Act passing in 2026 dropping to 32%, Bitcoin has held within a $62,000-$66,000 range, declining only ~3% over the past week amid these headwinds. Overall market conditions are weak: trading volume is down ~80% from its peak, total market cap has fallen ~50%, and stablecoin supply shows no growth, indicating a lack of fresh dollar liquidity. However, Bitcoin's relative strength versus altcoins suggests significant repositioning may be complete, reducing the likelihood of a sharp further decline. The focus is shifting to whether the cycle bottom is forming. A sustained move above $70,000 could signal the low is in.

marsbit18m ago

BIT Research: Two Major Bearish Factors Continue to Weigh on the Market, Why is Bitcoin Still Near the Cycle Bottom?

marsbit18m ago

BIS Project Agorá settles $1 million in tokenized cross-border payment trials

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has announced the completion of initial real-value trials for Project Agorá, a tokenized cross-border payment system. The trials involved 28 central and commercial banks settling approximately $1 million (800,000 Swiss francs) across 17 different transaction scenarios. The system successfully used tokenized central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits to process payments in six major currencies, with average settlement times of around 80 seconds. Participants included major central banks such as the Bank of England and Bank of Japan, alongside global commercial institutions like JPMorgan Chase and Citi. Launched in 2024, Project Agorá aims to explore how tokenization can improve wholesale cross-border payments, with this phase marking a key milestone. The BIS confirmed testing will continue as the project develops.

cointelegraph28m ago

BIS Project Agorá settles $1 million in tokenized cross-border payment trials

cointelegraph28m ago

Critical Day in the Cryptocurrency Market: Sharp 10.5 Billion Dollar Surge in Bitcoin and Ethereum Option Prices! What Do Investors Expect?

Critical Day in Crypto Market: A massive $10.5 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum options are expiring, shifting investor focus amidst Bitcoin's struggle near $64,000. Data from Deribit shows approximately $9.69B in Bitcoin options and $830M in Ethereum options set to expire. The put/call ratios are 0.28 for BTC and 0.63 for ETH, indicating overall bullish sentiment, though investors appear more cautious on Ethereum. Analysts note that while these expiries are significant, macroeconomic events and broader market sentiment remain key pricing drivers.

cryptonews.ru43m ago

Critical Day in the Cryptocurrency Market: Sharp 10.5 Billion Dollar Surge in Bitcoin and Ethereum Option Prices! What Do Investors Expect?

cryptonews.ru43m ago

Analyzing the Impact of AI on Economic Growth and Productivity

**Title: Analyzing AI's Impact on Economic Growth and Productivity** This article examines three contrasting views on AI's influence on economic growth and productivity. **The Optimistic View** posits that AI, especially through automating R&D ("recursive self-improvement"), could dramatically accelerate growth, even triggering a technological "singularity" with explosive, potentially infinite, economic expansion. **The Moderate/Mainstream View** acknowledges AI's productivity benefits but emphasizes significant real-world constraints that could limit its impact. These include: limited cost savings per task, structural ceilings on which jobs and industries are "exposed" to AI, adoption bottlenecks (e.g., compute, energy, regulatory hurdles), and the "weak link" effect where non-automatable tasks cap overall gains. Consequently, the realized AI dividend may be far lower than optimistic projections, with estimates typically ranging from 0.1% to 1.3% annual productivity growth. **The Pessimistic View** stems from two strands. The first aligns with the moderate view but applies extremely conservative assumptions about task exposure and efficiency gains, yielding minimal projected impact. The second introduces a demand-side critique: if AI primarily replaces rather than augments labor, it could depress labor's share of income, weaken consumer demand, and create a "demand trap" that ultimately stifles growth, unless offset by redistribution policies. **The authors' assessment** is nuanced: * **Short-term (1-2 years):** AI will support growth primarily through investment spending, not significant productivity gains. * **Medium-term (3-5 years):** Three potential paths emerge based on AI demand and bottleneck severity: 1. **"Optimistic Path":** High demand, few bottlenecks. Rapid productivity gains but risk of major job displacement and social conflict without redistribution. 2. **"Moderate Path" (most likely):** High demand but significant, surmountable bottlenecks. Leads to moderate productivity gains, financial market volatility (K-shaped returns), and sectoral job losses. 3. **"Pessimistic Path":** Low demand or severe bottlenecks. Minimal productivity and growth impact, triggering financial market corrections but allowing a smoother societal transition with less labor disruption. * **Long-term:** AI holds potential for a major productivity revolution and prosperity. The conclusion stresses that no path is smooth. Technologically "optimistic" outcomes could be socially detrimental, while "pessimistic" technological diffusion might be more socially stable. Policymakers must monitor developments and prepare balanced responses to manage economic, financial, and social sustainability.

marsbit52m ago

Analyzing the Impact of AI on Economic Growth and Productivity