In 2025, wallets linked to illicit actors received roughly $141 billion in stablecoin transfers, the highest level seen in at least five years according to blockchain analytics firm, TRM Labs.
Across 2025, stablecoin transaction volumes reached unprecedented scale on legitimate markets, exceeding $1 trillion in monthly volume multiple times. That implies annualized flows approaching roughly $12 trillion, a reflection of stablecoins’ evolution from speculative instruments to foundational payment, settlement, and liquidity rails for global crypto activity.
This rapid adoption is mirrored in broader trend data showing that stablecoins now dominate not just trading but enterprise uses, treasury operations, remittances, and settlement between institutions.
Where Illicit Stablecoin Use Really Takes Place
TRM’s analysis shows illicit stablecoin usage is highly concentrated, with a small number of activity types and networks accounting for most of the risk:
Sanctions evasion dominates: Around 86% of all illicit crypto flows in 2025 were linked to sanctions-related activity where actors use stablecoins to bypass international financial controls.
2025 RECAP | Sanctions Fuel Over 160% YoY Record Flow Increase to Illicit Crypto Addresses in 2025
Roughly $72 billion of the $141 billion total involved the A7A5 Ruble-pegged stablecoin, whose ecosystem is deeply entwined with sanctioned Russian wallets and exchanges.
Networks tied to state-linked actors in Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, and China illustrate how regulated channels are being sidestepped using stablecoin rails.
This concentration suggests that most illicit stablecoin movements are driven by industrialized financial facilitators and not casual offenders or opportunistic scammers.
Certain high-risk financial intermediaries also rely on stablecoins as primary settlement rails:
Guarantee and Escrow Services: Specialized intermediaries that facilitate large-scale funds movement saw their activity skyrocket from under $1 billion per quarter in 2022 to peaks above $17 billion by 2025 and nearly 99% of those funds flowed via stablecoins.
Front-Company Exchanges: Entities like Zedcex and Zedxion presented as typical trading venues but primarily acted as value transfer intermediaries, with about 83 % of incoming volume in USDT, the dominant stablecoin.
These patterns reinforce that where illicit actors do use stablecoins, they often leverage them not for speculation but for large cross-border settlements, liquidity routing, and systemized laundering.
Despite the headline figures, illicit transactions represent a small share of overall stablecoin activity, annualized illicit stablecoin use of ~$141 billion is still roughly 1% of total annual stablecoin flows (≈$12 trillion).
TRM’s data breaks down usage patterns by crime type:
Illicit goods and services, human trafficking, and industrial laundering networks: These showed near-total stablecoin adoption, reflecting a need for price stability and predictable settlement.
Scams, ransomware, and hacking: These categories often begin with volatile assets (like Bitcoin) and only convert to stablecoins during later laundering stages, indicating more selective reliance.
See also
Experts say stablecoins serve a dual role: they are essential infrastructure for legitimate digital finance, yet their efficiency makes them attractive for highly organized illicit operations that require fast, low-cost, cross-border value movement.
Regulators around the world, from the United States to the European Union and Asia, now face the challenge of balancing innovation and security. Focused controls, better on-chain monitoring, and targeted enforcement against concentrated high-risk networks may prove more effective than broad restrictions, says TRM.
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