An international investigation has uncovered that illicit cryptocurrencies follow predictable circulation patterns through major centralized exchanges including Binance, OKX, Coinbase, Kraken, Bybit and KuCoin. The report projects illicit crypto volume could reach 51 billion dollars by 2025, a projection that immediately raises concerns for exchanges, regulators and everyday users who rely on these platforms.
The inquiry shows that stolen or crime-linked funds repeatedly move through the same combinations of exchanges, mixers and high-risk providers. According to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, criminal networks from state-backed actors to drug cartels and human trafficking groups are using blockchain’s speed and cross-border reach to move and obscure large sums of illicit capital.
Predictable Flows and Persistent Weak Points
Investigators emphasize that these movements follow reproducible typologies rather than isolated episodes. TRM Labs estimates around 15 billion dollars in crypto is already held by illicit actors, with the largest reported 2025 hack involving 1.5 billion dollars stolen from Bybit and mixers like Tornado Cash tied to roughly 1.2 billion dollars in movements. OTC brokers, VASPs with weak KYC and cross-chain tools remain core vulnerabilities.
A gulf exists between blockchain visibility and enforcement capacity. Authorities can trace on-chain flows in real time, yet investigations and sanctions often lag, enabling regulatory arbitrage as illicit actors migrate to more permissive jurisdictions. Agencies such as the U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC are escalating actions—targeting mixing tools and pursuing cases against exchanges—which in turn raises compliance costs for legitimate platforms.
The report ultimately questions the industry’s role and the effectiveness of fragmented measures. As ICIJ chief executive Gerard Ryle asked, “To what extent are major exchanges complicit in enabling criminal activity?” The findings portray crypto money laundering as systemic and adaptive, and they signal that coordinated regulatory and investigative efforts in 2025 will be a key test of whether enforcement can disrupt these predictable laundering routes.