Ransomware generated significant revenue for criminals, although law enforcement actions and a declining willingness of victims to pay mitigated its impact
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Stablecoins are fast becoming a dominant force in cryptocurrency crime, accounting for 63% of all illegal transactions, according to Chainalysis’s 2025 Crypto Crime Report. This shift is a significant departure from Bitcoin’s previous dominance in the criminal landscape.
Although stablecoins are increasingly used for illicit purposes, they are not universally attractive to criminals. Issuers of stablecoins are actively working to counter abuse by freezing addresses associated with scams, terrorist financing and evading sanctions. Tether (USDT), for example, has a history of such actions. Nevertheless, the overall scope of cryptocurrency crime remains significant.
Chainalysis estimates that $40.9 billion (€39.7 billion) flowed to illegal addresses in 2024, although the actual figure could be closer to $51 billion (€49.5 billion), representing about 0.14% of total on-chain transactions. Ransomware remains a significant threat and generates significant revenue for criminals, although actions by law enforcement and a declining willingness of victims to pay have mitigated the impact somewhat.
Darknet market activity and volumes of fraud stores also declined significantly, due in part to the demise of Universal Anonymous Payment System (UAPS), a crypto payment processor used by many fraud stores. However, crypto theft increased 21 percent by 2024, reaching $2.2 billion (€2.14 billion) . Both decentralized financial services (DeFi) and centralized exchanges were targeted in these attacks, with compromise of private keys being the most common theft method.
North Korean hacking groups accounted for as much as 61% of stolen funds and siphoned a record $1.34 billion (€1.3 billion) from crypto platforms. These attacks often involve sophisticated tactics and techniques used by North Korean IT operatives who have infiltrated crypto and Web3 companies.
The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in fraudulent activities is another worrisome trend that Chainalysis highlights. AI tools enable highly personalised sextortion attacks, which are becoming increasingly common.
In addition to these specific trends, the report highlights the increasing sophistication and professionalisation of the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Criminal networks are increasingly using cryptocurrencies for a wider range of illegal activities and are even engaging in ‘polycrime,’ using cryptocurrencies to facilitate multiple types of crime simultaneously.
This professionalisation is illustrated by entities such as the guarantee platform Huione, which has provided infrastructure to sell fraud technology and handled transactions for various illegal activities. As of 2021, Huione and its vendors have processed more than $70 billion (€67.5 billion) in cryptocurrency transactions.
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