Chainalysis says Chinese language networks drive 20% of crypto laundering activity

The firm said the broader illicit on-chain money laundering ecosystem expanded from about $10 billion in 2020 to more than $82 billion in 2025, and that Chinese-language services have taken a growing share of that activity. It added that these networks now consistently launder more than 10% of funds stolen in pig butchering scams, as some criminals reduce reliance on centralized exchanges that can freeze assets.

Chainalysis estimated the networks processed $16.1 billion in inflows in 2025, or roughly $44 million per day, across more than 1,799 active wallets. It also said inflows to identified Chinese-language laundering networks have grown 7,325 times faster than illicit inflows to centralized exchanges since 2020, outpacing growth in decentralized finance and other intra-illicit on-chain flows.

The report described six core service types in the ecosystem, including over-the-counter services, running point brokers, money mules, Black U services, gambling-related services and other money movement providers that offer mixing and swapping. Chainalysis said Black U and gambling services typically break up large transfers into smaller amounts to evade detection, while over-the-counter services aggregate smaller flows into larger transactions for integration.

Chainalysis said guarantee platforms such as Huione and Xinbi act as aggregation points by offering marketing and escrow infrastructure for vendors, but it did not include those platforms in its total because they do not control the underlying laundering activity. It noted recent enforcement actions and advisories, including sanctions designations involving the Prince Group and U.S. and U.K. measures, as well as U.S. actions focused on Huione Group, but said vendors often migrate to alternative channels after disruption, underscoring the challenge of targeting operators rather than specific platforms.