Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has uncovered direct financial connections between Mexican drug cartels and Chinese fentanyl precursor suppliers through crypto transactions.
Crypto has become “increasingly interwoven into the illicit drug trade,” Chainalysis researchers stated in their report on Wednesday analyzing the transactions.
The “on-chain fentanyl trade” includes a “broad array” of players, Chainalysis claims.
The connection was tracked primarily through a civil forfeiture case in Wisconsin that resulted in the seizure of $5.5 million in crypto, exposing how cartel-affiliated money launderers in the U.S. transferred funds directly to Chinese chemical manufacturers.
Despite China’s ban on crypto, Chinese manufacturers remain…
Jun 16 2025
