Use of cryptocurrency explodes in human trafficking networks, online scams: report | Latest Tech News
The quantity of cryptocurrency funds to suspected human trafficking teams surged 85% in 2025 as digital belongings play a growing position in illicit online schemes, according to a new report from analytics firm Chainalysis.
Hundreds of tens of millions of transactions on public blockchains uncovered hyperlinks between cryptocurrency funds and human trafficking networks, little one intercourse abuse operations and online scams, according to the report, which was earlier cited by CNBC.
Most of the alleged felony crypto exercise was traced back to a growing felony ecosystem in Southeast Asia, though the funds themselves had been despatched from areas around the world, including North and South America, Europe and Australia, according to Chainalysis.
The quantity of cryptocurrency funds to suspected human trafficking teams surged 85% in 2025, according to a report. saiyood – stock.adobe.com
International escort and prostitution companies, rip-off compounds in Southeast Asia and criminals sharing little one intercourse abuse supplies largely relied on crypto funds, the report discovered.
The stunning report also discovered that these human trafficking networks are no longer hiding on the “dark web” — but working in plain view on messaging platforms like Telegram, where they recruit victims and arrange crypto funds.
“The key takeaway is that the true financial scale is large, at least hundreds of millions of USD worth of crypto transactions, and the physical harm is orders of magnitude greater than any dollar figure,” Chainalysis intelligence analyst Tom McLouth told CNBC.
However, the transparency of public blockchains has also allowed “unprecedented visibility” into these felony transactions, according to the report.
Authorities and watchdog organizations have been ready to determine felony networks by searching for key pink flags, like a reliance on stablecoin funds or the use of Chinese-language money laundering teams, the report said.
Chinese-language Telegram channels funneled at least $16.1 billion in illicit funds last 12 months, according to Chainalysis.
The report discovered a vital quantity of crypto transactions above $10,000 for worldwide escort and prostitution companies. Some listings marketed multi-day “companionship” companies and VIP packages for more than $30,000 in cryptocurrency.
Most of the alleged felony crypto exercise was traced back to a growing felony ecosystem in Southeast Asia. AP
There had been also many recruitment charges between $1,000 and $10,000 charged by alleged “labor placement agents” — who had been truly discovering victims to work in illicit rip-off compounds in Southeast Asia.
Hundreds of hundreds of victims looking for work have been trafficked into these resort and on line casino rip-off facilities, according to a Bloomberg report.
Once recruited, victims are allegedly pressured to conduct romance scams, pretend cryptocurrency investment schemes and other online frauds concentrating on victims overseas — talking with victims over the telephone in their respective languages to seem more reliable.
In 2023, cybercriminal syndicates in Southeast Asia stole as a lot as $37 billion, according to a United Nations report.
Just last 12 months, the Department of Justice announced the seizure of $15 billion price of bitcoin from a large rip-off heart in Cambodia.
About half of crypto transactions associated to little one intercourse abuse materials had been below $100, but that price level represents particular person funds within subscription-based fashions, according to the Chainalysis report.
“These [sadistic online extremism] groups specifically target and manipulate minors through sophisticated sextortion schemes, with the resulting content being monetized through cryptocurrency payments, perpetuating cycles of abuse,” the report said.
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