Chainalysis: Cryptocurrency Funds Tied to Human Trafficking Surge 85% in 2025

▲ Bitcoin (BTC), virtual assets, cryptocurrency theft, crypto crime / ChatGPT-generated image

A shocking report has revealed that cryptocurrency flows linked to human trafficking services surged 85% over the past year, reaching hundreds of millions of dollars.

According to crypto media outlet U.Today on February 16 (local time), blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis stated in its recently published 2026 Crypto Crime Report that cryptocurrency funds flowing into suspected human trafficking services increased by 85% year-over-year in 2025. The total transaction volume across identified services amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars, suggesting that illicit financial activities using cryptocurrency are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

The rise in these fund flows is closely associated with the expansion of scam compounds based in Southeast Asia, as well as online casinos and gambling sites. In particular, Chinese-language asset laundering networks and escrow services operating through Telegram have been identified as key channels supporting illegal activities. Human trafficking organizations actively exploit the anonymity of cryptocurrencies while luring victims to work in scam compounds under coercion or operating sex trafficking networks.

The types of assets used in illegal transactions vary by service category. International escort services and prostitution networks rely almost entirely on stablecoins as a means of payment, with assets such as USDT being predominant. Meanwhile, organizations selling child sexual abuse materials receive payments in major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and increasingly incorporate privacy-focused coins like Monero (XMR) into their laundering processes to evade tracking.

Chainalysis emphasized that blockchain transparency can, paradoxically, serve as a critical tool in dismantling human trafficking organizations. Unlike cash transactions, all blockchain transactions leave a record, enabling law enforcement agencies to analyze transaction patterns and disrupt criminal networks by blocking fund inflows to major exchanges. Chainalysis is currently collaborating with leading exchanges to monitor illicit fund laundering routes and provide detailed analytical data to investigative authorities.

The convergence of human trafficking and cryptocurrency is emerging as a global human rights threat, underscoring the urgent need for international cooperation to curb it. As criminal organizations continue to expand their operations by exploiting technological loopholes, exchanges and regulators are being urged to further strengthen anti-money laundering regulations. It is time for blockchain technology to fully serve as a powerful investigative tool for tracking and preventing crime rather than functioning as an instrument of criminal activity.

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