According to the latest data from on-chain security research institutions, illegal cryptocurrency addresses are expected to receive $154 billion in funds in 2025, a year-over-year increase of 162%. This figure may seem staggering, but it still accounts for less than 1% of the total crypto transaction volume.

What is driving this growth? Sanctions evasion and state-level activities. Data shows that a few countries' actors contribute the majority of illegal transaction volume. For example, North Korean hackers are projected to profit $2 billion in 2025; Russia's ruble-backed stablecoins reached a trading volume of $93.3 billion in their first year on the chain; Iran's proxy networks facilitated $2 billion in on-chain activities, including money laundering, illegal oil sales, and weapons procurement.

More notably, the role of stablecoins is shifting—by 2025, stablecoins will account for 84% of all illegal transaction volume, becoming the preferred tool for criminals to evade sanctions. Violent crimes such as human trafficking, ransomware, and scams are also spreading on the chain, backed by a complete illegal infrastructure service chain.

This reminds us that the security and compliance development of the crypto market remains a long-term and arduous task.