
Crypto payments accelerate human-trafficking networks across Southeast Asia
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Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis finds on-chain laundering ballooned to about $82 billion in 2025, driven by rising market liquidity and more professionalized laundering services. Chinese-language crews now handle a sizable share of that volume through messaging-platform hubs, mule networks and OTC-style trading that preserve operational continuity under enforcement pressure.
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TRM Labs finds criminal actors moved about $158 billion in digital assets in 2025 even as illicit activity fell to roughly 1.2% of total volume; the report warns the rise stems from more organized laundering ecosystems that exploit stablecoins, bespoke wallet clusters and peer-mediated on‑ramps. Language‑specific networks, broker and mule infrastructures, and resilient messaging‑app marketplaces are enabling faster, harder‑to‑freeze flows that demand coordinated FIU, exchange and platform responses.

