Crypto Under Siege: Billions Laundered by Surging Chinese Networks
A new report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has revealed a staggering escalation in crypto-based money laundering, with an estimated $82 billion funneled through illicit channels by 2025. This dramatic surge is largely driven by the burgeoning influence of sophisticated Chinese-language money laundering networks (CMLNs), now identified as a primary and rapidly expanding threat to the digital asset ecosystem.
The Alarming Rise of CMLNs
The Chainalysis report underscores a sharp increase in illicit on-chain money laundering activities, skyrocketing from approximately $10 billion in 2020 to a formidable $82 billion in 2025. A significant portion of this growth is attributed to Chinese-language money laundering networks, or CMLNs, which accounted for roughly 20% of all identified illicit crypto laundering in 2025. These networks exhibit an unparalleled growth rate, with inflows expanding 7,325 times faster than those directed towards centralized exchanges (CEXs) since 2020. This growth also dwarfs that of decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, surpassing them by 1,810 times, and outstripping other illicit on-chain flows by 2,190 times.
A New Era of Cross-Border Financial Crime
CMLNs are characterized by their highly sophisticated, multi-layered operations that span multiple platforms, employing an industrial-level processing capacity. In 2025 alone, Chainalysis identified six distinct service types within the CMLN ecosystem, collectively processing $16.1 billion in illicit funds. Experts like Tom Keating from the Royal United Services Institute note that the remarkable speed and scale of these networks are a direct consequence of converging global forces, enabling them to evolve into "multi-billion-dollar cross-border operations" that offer efficient, competitively priced services to organized crime across Europe and North America. This shift represents a move away from informal, traditional underground banking to a more discreet and faster cryptocurrency-based system, as highlighted by Chris Urben of Nardello & Co. The number of active on-chain wallets associated with these networks has also surged, expanding from a mere handful to over 1,799 in 2025, indicating a widespread adoption of these illicit services.
