As Epstein-linked revelations emerged, new data show crypto payments to suspected trafficking services surged 85% globally in 2025.

As global attention remains fixed on the continued release and scrutiny of emails and documents tied to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, attention has turned to how exploitation networks operate and move money.

Against this backdrop, a new report from Chainalysis disclosed that cryptocurrency flows to suspected human trafficking-related services surged sharply in 2025. Transaction volumes reached hundreds of millions of dollars, up 85% year-over-year. While the figures quantify financial activity, the report stressed that the true cost of these crimes is borne by victims, not balance sheets.

Trafficking-Linked Crypto Activity

The increase in crypto-linked trafficking activity has occurred alongside the expansion of Southeast Asia–based scam compounds, online gambling operations, and Chinese-language money laundering and guarantee networks, many of which operate openly on Telegram and form a tightly connected illicit ecosystem with global reach.

Unlike cash-based systems, blockchain transparency helps investigators to trace these flows, thereby creating opportunities to identify and disrupt networks that would otherwise remain hidden. Blockchain analytics company Chainalysis tracked four primary categories of suspected cryptocurrency-facilitated trafficking: Telegram-based “international escort” services suspected of trafficking people; “labor placement” agents linked to kidnapping and forced labor in scam compounds; prostitution networks; and vendors of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Payment behavior differs across categories. “International escort” services and prostitution networks rely almost entirely on stablecoins as they prioritize price stability and ease of conversion, but CSAM vendors have historically favored Bitcoin. However, its dominance is declining as alternative Layer 1 networks and privacy tools emerge.

Escort services were found to be deeply integrated with Chinese-language money laundering networks that rapidly convert stablecoins into local currencies and reduce exposure to asset freezes by centralized issuers. Transaction-size analysis points to professionalized operations as nearly 49% of “international escort” service transfers surpass $10,000, which is consistent with organized enterprises operating at scale.

Meanwhile, prostitution networks cluster in the $1,000-$10,000 range. These networks often use structured pricing and customer-service models, advertising standardized rates across major East Asian cities, which in turn produce identifiable on-chain patterns useful for detection.

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CSAM Crypto Economy

CSAM operations reveal a different structure. It was found that roughly half of transactions are under $100, and there is a shift toward subscription-based models that generate predictable revenue streams. In 2025, Chainalysis observed growing use of Monero and instant exchangers to launder CSAM proceeds, in addition to an emerging overlap between CSAM networks and sadistic online extremism communities, where abuse material is monetized through cryptocurrency payments.

One major CSAM site identified in July 2025 alone used more than 5,800 crypto addresses and generated over $530,000 since 2022. The report also stated that trafficking-linked services leverage US-based infrastructure for scale and legitimacy, while operators often remain overseas to limit personal exposure.

XRP price surged sharply, nearly posting an 18.7% intraday gain before surrendering half of that advance. The token now trades near $1.53 after closing with a 9% rise. 

Premature profit-taking by holders capped momentum and may influence XRP price direction in the coming sessions.

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XRP Selling Continues

Exchange net position change data indicates that selling among XRP holders remains consistent. Green bars on the metric show continued inflows to exchanges, which typically signal intent to sell. This steady movement suggests holders are offloading XRP during price rallies.

Outflows continue to dominate net flows despite the recent surge. Investors appear eager to secure profits after weeks of volatility. Such behavior often suppresses sustained breakouts and reinforces consolidation near resistance levels.

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The MVRV Long/Short Difference highlights the dominance of XRP short-term holder profits. This metric measures the distribution of unrealized gains between long-term and short-term investors. Current low readings indicate that short-term holders hold a larger share of profits.

Short-term holders typically react quickly to price increases. Their tendency to sell at the first sign of gains likely contributed to the rally’s abrupt halt.

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As long as STH profits dominate, upward momentum may encounter repeated resistance.

XRP Price May Face Some Resistance

XRP nearly recorded an 18.7% rise during the latest trading session before settling at a 9% gain. The long wick and rapid reduction in upside reflect early profit booking. Such behavior highlights fragile bullish conviction despite renewed interest.

The immediate objective is securing $1.51 as a support floor. XRP trades slightly above that level at $1.53.

Resistance near $1.62 may cap gains, and renewed selling from short-term holders could pull the price back toward $1.36.

If distribution slows and demand stabilizes, XRP could regain upward traction.

A decisive move above $1.62 would strengthen the technical structure. Sustained buying could drive the price toward $1.76, invalidating the bearish thesis and reinforcing recovery momentum.

The lack of privacy for onchain transactions is one of the biggest hurdles to the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies for payments and a medium of exchange, according to Changpeng Zhao, co-founder of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange.

The executive commonly known as “CZ” said the lack of privacy prevents businesses and institutions from paying expenses in crypto. He gave this example: 

“Lack of Privacy may be the missing link for crypto payments adoption. Imagine a company pays employees in crypto onchain. With the current state of crypto, you can pretty much see how much everyone in the company is paid by clicking the ‘from’ address.”

In a previous conversation with investor and host of the All-In Podcast Chamath Palihapitiya, CZ also cited physical security concerns as a reason why onchain transparency is a risk to users. The comments follow a revival of privacy and the cypherpunk ethos in crypto.

Cypherpunk ideology is central to the birth of cryptocurrencies, peer-to-peer digital money that can be transferred without centralized intermediaries, and the encryption of online communication to shield messages from surveillance.

Related: ‘No privacy’ CBDCs will come, warns billionaire Ray Dalio

Encrypt everything: the rise of onchain privacy

Businesses and institutions will not embrace crypto, Web3 platforms, or blockchain if they cannot shield their transactions, Avidan Abitbol, the former Business Development Specialist for the Kaspa cryptocurrency project, told Cointelegraph.

Transaction data contains critical information about corporate workflows, trade secrets, business relationships and can provide clues about a company’s overall financial health to competitors, he said.

These issues can lead to corporate theft, negatively impact corporations during business negotiations and increase the threat of an institution being targeted by scammers, Abitbol added.