Crypto Crime Hits Record $158B in 2025 as Illicit Activity Share Declines
Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs reports cryptocurrency-related crime reached a nominal high of $158 billion in 2025, marking a 145% increase from 2024's $64.5 billion. Despite the absolute growth, illicit transactions accounted for just 1.2% of total on-chain volume—continuing a downward trend from 1.3% in 2024 and 2.4% in 2023.
TRM's innovative liquidity-based metric reveals illicit actors captured only 2.7% of deployable crypto capital in 2025, down from 2.9% in 2024 and 6.0% in 2023. This suggests criminal elements are absorbing diminishing proportions of new ecosystem inflows, even as sanction-related activity shows particular growth.
The findings align with Chainalysis data showing sub-1% illicit penetration of total crypto activity. Market observers note the divergence between rising nominal values and falling percentages reflects the sector's accelerating mainstream adoption.
