{"id":514047,"date":"2026-01-08T22:35:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T22:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/?p=514047"},"modified":"2026-01-09T09:36:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T09:36:29","slug":"stablecoins-dominate-illicit-crypto-activities-eclipsing-bitcoin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/stablecoins-dominate-illicit-crypto-activities-eclipsing-bitcoin\/","title":{"rendered":"Bitcoin is not the king of the dark web – and the reason why is a $154 billion crypto nightmare"},"content":{"rendered":"

The era of the hooded hacker hoarding Bitcoin<\/a> in a dark web wallet is over.<\/p>\n

In 2025, the center of gravity in the illicit cryptocurrency economy shifted decisively away from the volatility of the original cryptocurrency and toward a dense, dollar-linked shadow system.<\/p>\n

According to new Chainalysis data shared with CryptoSlate<\/em>, stablecoins accounted for 84% of the $154 billion illicit transaction volume last year, marking a clear shift in risk toward programmable dollars.<\/p>\n

This structural shift has enabled Chinese money laundering networks to scale \u201claundering-as-a-service\u201d operations while nation-states like North Korea, Russia, and Iran plugged into these same rails to evade Western controls.<\/p>\n

Why criminals ditched Bitcoin<\/h2>\n

The most striking trend in the 2025 data is the displacement of Bitcoin as the primary currency of crime<\/a>. For over a decade, Bitcoin was synonymous with illicit online activity, but its dominance has eroded steadily since 2020.<\/p>\n

As shown in the illicit activity chart below from 2020 to 2025, Bitcoin's share of dirty flows has plummeted<\/a> year after year, while stablecoins have surged to capture the vast majority of the market.<\/p>\n

\"Stablecoins
Stablecoins Dominate Illicit Crypto Activities (Source: Chainalysis)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\n \n
\n Related Reading<\/span>\n

Cybercriminals ditch Bitcoin for stablecoins as illicit trades potentially surpassed $51 billion in 2024 \u2013 Chainalysis<\/h3>\n <\/div>\n \n <\/i>\n <\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n

This migration is not accidental. It mirrors trends in the broader, legitimate crypto economy, where stablecoins are increasingly dominant due to their practical benefits: easy cross-border transferability, lower volatility than assets like Bitcoin or Ethereum<\/a>, and broader utility in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.<\/p>\n

However, these same features have made stablecoins the preferred vehicle for sophisticated criminal enterprises.<\/p>\n

So, the shift away from Bitcoin represents a modernization of financial crime.<\/p>\n

By leveraging assets pegged to the US dollar, criminal actors effectively utilize a shadow version of the traditional banking system, one that moves at the speed of the internet and operates outside the immediate reach of US regulators.<\/p>\n

This \u201cdollarization\u201d of crime allows cartels and state actors to settle payments in a stable unit of account without exposure to the wild price swings that characterize the rest of the crypto market.<\/p>\n

The geopolitical pivot<\/h2>\n

If the period from 2009 to 2019 was the “Early Days” of rogue niche cybercriminals, and 2020 to 2024 was the era of “Professionalization,” 2025 marked the arrival of “Wave 3”: Large-scale nation-state activity.<\/p>\n

In this new phase, geopolitics has moved on-chain. Governments are now tapping into the professionalized service providers originally built for cybercriminals while simultaneously standing up their own bespoke infrastructure to evade sanctions at scale.<\/p>\n

Russia, in particular, demonstrated the viability of state-backed digital assets for sanctions evasion. Following legislation introduced in 2024 to facilitate such activities, the country launched its ruble-backed A7A5 token<\/a> in February 2025.<\/p>\n

In less than one year, the token transacted over $93.3 billion, allowing Russian entities to bypass the global banking system and move value across borders without relying on SWIFT or Western correspondent banks.<\/p>\n

Similarly, Iran\u2019s proxy networks<\/a> have continued to leverage the blockchain for illicit finance.<\/p>\n\n

\n \n
\n Related Reading<\/span>\n

US sanctions say Iran\u2019s oil for crypto web pushed $100M through 2023 to 2025<\/h3>\n <\/div>\n \n <\/i>\n <\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n

Confirmed wallets identified in sanctions designations show that Iranian-aligned networks facilitated money laundering, illicit oil sales, and the procurement of arms and commodities to the tune of more than $2 billion.<\/p>\n

Despite various military setbacks, Iran-aligned terrorist organizations, including Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, are utilizing cryptocurrency at scales never before observed.<\/p>\n

North Korea also recorded its most destructive year to date. DPRK-linked hackers<\/a> stole $2 billion in 2025, a figure driven by devastating mega-hacks.<\/p>\n

The most notable of these was the February Bybit exploit<\/a>, which resulted in losses of nearly $1.5 billion, marking the largest digital heist in cryptocurrency history.<\/p>\n

Money laundering industrialization<\/h2>\n

This surge in volume is supported by the emergence of Chinese money laundering networks (CMLNs)<\/a> as a dominant force in the illicit on-chain ecosystem. These networks have dramatically expanded the diversification and professionalization of crypto crime.<\/p>\n

Building on frameworks established by operations such as Huione Guarantee, these networks have created full-service criminal enterprises.<\/p>\n

They offer specialized \u201claundering-as-a-service\u201d capabilities, supporting a diverse client base that ranges from fraudsters and scam operators to North Korean state-backed hackers and terrorist financiers.<\/a><\/p>\n\n

\n \n
\n Related Reading<\/span>\n

North Korean IT workers earned $17M this year with some funds coming from Circle accounts<\/h3>\n <\/div>\n \n <\/i>\n <\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n

A key trend identified in 2025 is the increasing reliance of both illicit actors and nation-states on infrastructure providers that offer a \u201cfull stack\u201d of services.<\/p>\n

These providers, which are themselves visible on-chain, have evolved from niche hosting resellers into integrated infrastructure platforms. They provide domain registration, bulletproof hosting, and other technical services specifically designed to withstand takedowns, abuse complaints, and sanctions enforcement.<\/p>\n

By offering a resilient technical backbone, these providers amplify the reach of malicious cyber activity. They allow financially motivated criminals and state-aligned actors to maintain operations even as law enforcement agencies attempt to dismantle their networks.<\/p>\n

Convergence of digital and physical threats<\/h2>\n

While the narrative of crypto crime often focuses on digital theft and laundering, 2025 provided stark evidence that on-chain activity is increasingly intersecting with violent crime in the physical world.<\/p>\n

Human trafficking operations have increasingly leveraged cryptocurrency for financial logistics, moving proceeds across borders with relative anonymity.<\/p>\n

Even more disturbing is the reported rise in physical coercion attacks<\/a>. Criminals are increasingly using violence to force victims<\/a> to transfer assets, often timing these assaults to coincide with cryptocurrency price peaks to maximize the value of the theft.<\/p>\n

Illicit activity remains less than 1% of crypto economy<\/h2>\n

Despite these alarming trends, the broader context remains important. The illicit volumes tracked in 2025 remain less than 1%\u00a0 of the legitimate crypto economy.<\/p>\n

However, the qualitative shift in that 1% is what concerns regulators and intelligence agencies. The integration of nation-states into the illicit supply chain via stablecoins raises the stakes for national security.<\/p>\n

As government agencies, compliance teams, and security professionals look toward 2026, the challenge will be disrupting a professionalized, state-sponsored shadow economy that has successfully weaponized the efficiency of modern finance.<\/p>\n

Cooperation among law enforcement<\/a>, regulatory bodies, and crypto businesses will be crucial, as the integrity of the ecosystem now intersects directly with global geopolitical stability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The era of the hooded hacker hoarding Bitcoin in a dark web wallet is over. In 2025, the center of gravity in the illicit cryptocurrency economy shifted decisively away from the volatility of the original cryptocurrency and toward a dense, dollar-linked shadow system. According to new Chainalysis data shared with CryptoSlate, stablecoins accounted for 84% […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":720,"featured_media":514075,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[120,76799,79312,11,6849],"tags":[77057,76988],"prediction_market_topic":[],"post_folder":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nStablecoins dominate illicit crypto activities, eclipsing Bitcoin<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Stablecoins have become the linchpin for laundering networks, offering criminals a sophisticated alternative to traditional banking.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/stablecoins-dominate-illicit-crypto-activities-eclipsing-bitcoin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bitcoin is not the king of the dark web - and the reason why is a $154 billion crypto nightmare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Stablecoins have become the linchpin for laundering networks, offering criminals a sophisticated alternative to traditional banking.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/stablecoins-dominate-illicit-crypto-activities-eclipsing-bitcoin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CryptoSlate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-08T22:35:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-09T09:36:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/crypto-launder-stablecoin.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Oluwapelumi Adejumo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cryptoslate\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cryptoslate\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Oluwapelumi Adejumo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/stablecoins-dominate-illicit-crypto-activities-eclipsing-bitcoin\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/stablecoins-dominate-illicit-crypto-activities-eclipsing-bitcoin\/\"},\"author\":{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/author\/oluwapelumi-adejumo\/#person\",\"name\":\"Oluwapelumi Adejumo\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/author\/oluwapelumi-adejumo\/\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/author\/oluwapelumi-adejumo\/\"},\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/author\/oluwapelumi-adejumo\/#authorimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/profile-photo-oluwapelumi-adejumo-300x300.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/profile-photo-oluwapelumi-adejumo-300x300.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Oluwapelumi Adejumo\"},\"jobTitle\":\"Senior Reporter\",\"description\":\"Oluwapelumi values Bitcoin's potential. 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