Source: New York Post
The number of cryptocurrency payments to suspected human trafficking groups surged 85% in 2025 as digital assets play a growing role in illicit online schemes, according to a new report from analytics firm Chainalysis. Hundreds of millions of transactions on public blockchains exposed links between cryptocurrency payments and human trafficking networks, child sex abuse operations and online scams, according to the report, which was earlier cited by CNBC. Most of the alleged criminal crypto activity was traced back to a growing criminal ecosystem in Southeast Asia, though the payments themselves were sent from locations around the world, including North and South America, Europe and Australia, according to Chainalysis.
