• Illicit stablecoin activity hit 5-year high of $141B in 2025: TRM Labs Sanctions evasion networks, guarantee marketplaces, and large-scale money laundering schemes dominated illicit stablecoin use, says TRM Labs. • Cointelegraph in your social feed Illicit entities received around $141 billion via stablecoins in 2025, the highest level observed in the last five years, says blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs. • TRM said in a reportreleasedon Tuesday that the increase doesn’t reflect a broader growth in crypto-enabled crime, but does show a “deeper reliance on stablecoins within specific activity types where they offer clear operational advantages.” Stablecoins have been particularly used in sanctions-linked networks and large-scale money movement services, it said. • Sanctions-related activityaccounted for 86% of all illicit crypto flows in 2025. • Of the $141 billion in stablecoin flows, around half, or $72 billion, was linked specifically to the Russian ruble-pegged token A7A5, “whose activity is almost entirely concentrated within sanctions-linked ecosystems,” TRM said. • Russian-linked networks, such as one called A7, intersect with other state-linked ecosystems, including entities tied to China, Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela, “underscoring how stablecoins have become a connective infrastructure for sanctioned actors seeking to move value outside traditional financial controls,” TRM stated.
Article Summaries:
- Illicit entities received around $141 billion via stablecoins in 2025, the highest level observed in the last five years, says blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs. TRM said in a report released on Tuesday that the increase doesn’t reflect a broader growth in crypto-enabled crime, but does show a “deeper reliance on stablecoins within specific activity types where they offer clear operational advantages.” Stablecoins have been particularly used in sanctions-linked networks and large-scale money movement services, it said. Sanctions-related activity accounted for 86% of all illicit crypto flows i
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