Report shows virtual currencies are playing a growing role in human trafficking networks

Cryptocurrency payments to suspected human trafficking syndicates will soar 85% in 2025, with hundreds of millions of transactions tracked on public blockchains, according to a new report from Chainalysis.

The US-based blockchain analysis firm said most of the activity is related to a growing criminal ecosystem in Southeast Asia, where fraud conglomerates, illegal online gambling operations and Chinese-language money laundering networks operate simultaneously.

Cryptocurrency trackers said cryptocurrency activity by human traffickers falls into three main categories: Labor brokers and scammers. and child sexual abuse material (CSAM) vendors.

Data on the blockchain shows that while most services are concentrated in Southeast Asia, customers send money from across the Americas, Europe and Australia, highlighting the global reach of the business.

Chainalies also found that cybercriminals are increasingly relying on messaging platforms such as Telegram to advertise their services, recruit victims, and coordinate payments.

“We are seeing a broader shift away from old darknet forums to messaging apps and the semi-open Telegram ecosystem, which, when combined with cryptocurrencies, will allow these networks to scale faster, perform ‘customer service’ and move funds around the world with far less friction,” said Chainalysis Intelligence Analyst Tom McLaus.

The company added that the transparency of public blockchains also provides what it calls “unprecedented visibility” into the criminal financial flows that blockchain trackers use to disrupt operations.

“The important point is that the actual financial scale is large, at least hundreds of millions of US dollars worth of cryptocurrency transactions, and the physical damage is orders of magnitude greater than any dollar figure,” McCluth said.

Blockchain activity suggests that a highly organized network was behind many transactions.

Although some escort services and sex work operate legally, the report says potential trafficking activities can be identified through clear financial practices.

In particular, suspect networks are increasingly relying on stablecoins and Chinese-language money laundering groups for quick cash conversion, McCluth said.

These laundering networks, primarily operating through Chinese-language Telegram channels, help criminals “cleanse” illicit funds by moving them through cryptocurrencies, with an estimated $16.1 billion in illicit cryptocurrency outflows in 2025.

International escort services linked to cryptocurrencies also accounted for a significant portion of high-value transfers tracked by Chaineries, with nearly half of the transactions exceeding $10,000, according to the data.

Listings reviewed by researchers promoted cross-border travel packages, multi-day “companionship” services, and tiered pricing structures, with VIP packages costing more than $30,000.

Chainalysis said the scale and consistency of these transfers, as well as repeated payment patterns across wallet clusters, suggest a specialized operation rather than an isolated individual.

We found that cryptocurrency payments to suspected prostitution networks had a clearer cluster of smaller transactions than escort service transactions, with most of them between $1,000 and $10,000. However, Chaineries said the data was consistent with that of organized groups.

Another major category included so-called “labor agents” who recruit individuals to fraudulent facilities known for running crypto-based schemes, typically in Southeast Asia.

According to the report, recruitment fees typically range from $1,000 to $10,000 in cryptocurrencies, consistent with prices advertised on Telegram channels.

Examples cited in the report include posts recruiting “customer service” or “data entry” workers for jobs in Cambodia or Myanmar, promising high monthly salaries and covering travel expenses.

Once recruited, victims were allegedly forced to carry out romance scams, bogus cryptocurrency investment schemes, and other online scams targeting overseas victims.

In some Telegram conversations analyzed by Chainalysis, recruiters discussed transporting workers across borders, arranging forged documents and arranging payments to intermediaries.

The company also identified connections between the wallet and recruitment channels previously associated with illegal gambling platforms and money laundering services, suggesting that the human trafficking activity is intertwined with a broader criminal enterprise.

The scale of these compounds was highlighted last year when the U.S. Department of Justice seized $15 billion worth of Bitcoin from a large Cambodian fraud center that operated romance scams.

“Although there has been increased enforcement since late 2025 on parts of this ecosystem, particularly fraud complexes, the underlying sexual exploitation and trafficking networks may continue to operate, often via alternative infrastructure, both physical and digital,” McCluth said.

Chainalysis also tracked networks involved in child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Although the networks operated with different payment structures, they exhibited similarly organized financial patterns.

Approximately half of CSAM-related cryptocurrency transactions are under $100, reflecting the subscription-based model and low per-user pricing in private chat groups and encrypted file-sharing channels.

Chainalysis has observed that these funds are moving away from mainstream cryptocurrencies and into privacy-focused assets such as Monero and instant exchange services that do not require identity verification.

The report also documented the overlap between CSAM subscription services and “sadistic online extremism” communities.

“These[sadistic online extremist]groups specifically target and manipulate minors through sophisticated sextortion schemes, and the resulting content is monetized through cryptocurrency payments, perpetuating the cycle of abuse,” the report said.

In July 2025, Chainalysis announced that it had helped identify one of the largest CSAM websites operating on the dark web, following the lead of UK law enforcement agencies.

This single operation leveraged over 5,800 cryptocurrency addresses and generated over $530,000 in revenue since July 2022.

“In general, as cryptocurrencies become more popular, their use for both illicit and licit purposes will increase,” McLaus said. “In the short term, we do not expect the use of cryptocurrencies in human trafficking-related activities to disappear; rather, we expect the use of cryptocurrencies to continue to increase despite increased enforcement.”