Chainalysis: Crypto transactions linked to human trafficking rose 85% in 2025, reaching hundreds of millions

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis reported that cryptocurrency transactions tied to human trafficking rose at least 85% year-over-year in 2025, with annual values reaching hundreds of millions of dollars. The study, focusing on labor exploitation in Southeast Asian scam compounds and sex trafficking networks, found most payments used U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins such as USDT and USDC, often facilitated via Telegram-based black market escrow channels including "New Coin Guarantee" and the now-closed "Potato Guarantee." Chainalysis and partner data show a large share of sex trafficking-related transfers route to organizations controlling many women and minors, typically in ticket sizes of $1,000–$10,000 for recurring transactions and over $10,000 for nearly half of cross-border payments, while child sexual abuse material transactions, still largely conducted in Bitcoin, are frequently for amounts under $100. The report cites comments from Tether and Telegram, both of which say they prohibit and act against platform abuse, and concludes that centralized stablecoin systems and multibillion-dollar collateralized markets on Telegram remain critical chokepoints that law enforcement could target to disrupt these criminal economies.