Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said cryptocurrency transactions tied to suspected human trafficking networks rose 85% year over year in 2025, reaching hundreds of millions of dollars. The firm said the financial totals still fail to capture the real cost of these crimes, where the damage is measured in lives affected rather than value transferred on-chain.
According to the report, the rise tracks the fast expansion of scam compounds in Southeast Asia, online casinos, and Chinese-language money laundering networks operating largely through Telegram. Chainalysis described these connected actors as part of a growing illicit ecosystem with global reach. The money flow is larger, and the operating structure looks more organized.
Four categories stand out in on-chain tracking
Chainalysis grouped the activity into four primary categories: Telegram-based “international escort” services, “labor placement” agents linked to forced scam compound work, prostitution networks, and vendors of child sexual abuse material. The breakdown shows that the crypto activity is not concentrated in one channel. It is spread across several criminal business models with different payment patterns.
Even at this scale, the firm said blockchain transparency gives investigators visibility that cash systems do not offer. Address clustering, transfer timing, and conversion behavior can leave a trail. That makes these networks harder to hide completely, even when they rely on fast-moving payment infrastructure.
Stablecoins lead many payments as operations scale up
Transaction data in the report shows clear differences between categories. For Telegram-based “international escort” services, nearly 48.8% of transfers were larger than $10,000, a sign that organized operators may be handling payments at scale. Prostitution networks, by comparison, were more concentrated in the $1,000 to $10,000 range.
Stablecoins dominated payments linked to escort and prostitution networks, reflecting demand for price stability and easier conversion. Vendors of child sexual abuse material have historically relied more heavily on Bitcoin, but Chainalysis said Bitcoin’s dominance is declining as alternative networks and privacy-focused assets such as Monero gain more traction in laundering proceeds.
Dark web case involved more than 5,800 addresses
One major case highlighted in the report emerged in July 2025 after a lead from UK law enforcement. Chainalysis identified a large dark web platform for child sexual abuse material that used more than 5,800 cryptocurrency addresses and generated over $530,000 in revenue since mid-2022. The firm said the case exceeded the scale of the 2019 Welcome to Video investigation.
Chris Hughes, Hotline Director at the Internet Watch Foundation, said the organization identified 312,030 reports containing child sexual abuse imagery in 2025, up 7% from the previous year. He said any payment information found on commercial websites is captured and shared with global law enforcement and organizations including Chainalysis to disrupt continued distribution.
Recurring blockchain signals remain usable for detection
Chainalysis said these trafficking-linked networks are becoming more sophisticated and more integrated with established money laundering systems. Still, the report said certain blockchain patterns remain identifiable, including large recurring cross-border transfers and stablecoin conversion flows. Those signals can give compliance teams and authorities practical leads for detecting suspicious activity.