Crypto launderers are turning away from centralized exchanges: Chainalysis

Chainalysis says the on-chain money laundering ecosystem processed $82 billion in funds in 2025, with Chinese-language networks now dominating.

The use of centralized crypto exchanges for laundering illicit funds is on the decline, with Chinese-language money laundering networks now being used more than ever, according to Chainalysis.

Chainalysis said in a report on Tuesday that informal service-based networks offered through Chinese-speaking channels have a wide variety of laundering-as-a-service businesses that use money mules, informal over-the-counter trade desks, and gambling platforms to mix and swap crypto.

The networks emerged during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, and now “dominate known crypto money laundering activity.”

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