Chinese Networks Lead Illicit Crypto Laundering at $16.1B

Chinese-language money laundering networks have overtaken other methods to become the dominant channel for illicit cryptocurrency transactions worldwide, processing an estimated $16.1 billion in funds last year, according to a report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

The networks, which emerged at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, handled roughly 20 percent of tracked illicit crypto flows over the past five years. In 2025 alone, they laundered about $44 million per day through 1,799 active on-chain wallets. This activity contributed to the overall expansion of the global on-chain money laundering ecosystem, which surged from $10 billion in 2020 to more than $82 billion last year. Chainalysis attributed the growth to the increasing accessibility and liquidity of cryptocurrencies, along with a shift toward informal, service-based operations that evade traditional oversight.

Unlike centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, which have strengthened customer verification and can freeze suspicious funds amid tighter global regulations, these networks offer anonymity through decentralized channels. Since 2020, inflows to the Chinese-language networks have expanded...