Crypto wallets received a record $158 billion in illicit funds last year
Illegal cryptocurrency flows reached a record $158 billion in 2025, reversing a three-year trend of declining amounts from $86B in 2021 to $64B in 2024.
This sharp 145% increase is being reported by blockchain intelligence experts at TRM Labs, who noted that it comes despite the illicit activity share of the total on-chain volume actually falling slightly from 1.3% in 2024 to 1.2% in 2025.
Source: TRM Labs
According to TRM Labs, the spike in volumes can be attributed to:
- A surge in sanctions-linked crypto activity, overwhelmingly driven by Russia-associated networks such as A7 and the A7A5 stablecoin, following new sanctions designations and improved attribution of…
