Illicit cryptocurrency activity surged to a record $154 billion in 2025, driven largely by a sharp increase in sanctions evasion by nation-states using blockchain networks, according to a new report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

The report finds that funds flowing to sanctioned entities jumped 694% year over year, making sanctions evasion the fastest-growing category of crypto crime.

But even excluding sanctioned activity, 2025 would still mark a record year for illicit on-chain transactions as criminal activity rose across most categories, Chainalysis said.

Despite the surge in illicit volumes, crypto crime still represents less than 1% of total crypto transaction activity, the report notes, underscoring how criminal use remains small relative to the broader ecosystem.

Nation-States Move On-Chain

The most striking development is the growing involvement of governments and state-aligned actors in crypto crime infrastructure.

Chainalysis says sanctioned jurisdictions increasingly use digital assets to bypass financial restrictions and move funds globally. Russia, for example, launched a ruble-backed token called A7A5, which transacted over $93 billion in less than a year and was used to facilitate sanctions evasion.

Meanwhile, North Korea remained the most prolific state-linked hacking group, stealing roughly $2 billion in crypto during 2025, including a nearly $1.5 billion exploit of the Bybit exchange, the largest digital asset theft on record.

Iranian networks have also increasingly used crypto to facilitate oil sales, arms procurement, and money laundering, moving more than $2 billion through wallets tied to sanctioned entities, according to the report.

Together, these trends signal a shift in the crypto crime landscape from isolated cybercriminals to state-aligned financial ecosystems operating on-chain.

Stablecoins Dominate Illicit Transactions

Stablecoins have become the primary vehicle for illicit crypto activity.

According to Chainalysis, 84% of illicit crypto transaction volume now involves stablecoins, reflecting their growing role across the broader crypto economy due to their price stability and cross-border usability.

The shift mirrors the wider market, where stablecoins increasingly serve as the core settlement asset for trading, payments, and international transfers.

Chinese Laundering Networks Expand Rapidly

Another key finding is the rise of Chinese-language money laundering networks (CMLNs), which have emerged as a central hub in the global crypto crime ecosystem.

These networks provide “laundering-as-a-service” infrastructure, processing funds from scams, hacks, and sanctions-related activity. Chainalysis estimates they now account for about 20% of known illicit crypto laundering flows, handling billions of dollars annually.

The networks operate through a variety of mechanisms—including money mule networks, informal over-the-counter brokers, gambling platforms, and discounted “Black U” markets for illicit stablecoins—often coordinating activity through Telegram marketplaces.

Scams Become Industrialized

Fraud remains one of the largest categories of crypto crime. Chainalysis estimates scammers received at least $14 billion in crypto in 2025, with the figure potentially exceeding $17 billion as additional illicit addresses are identified.

Impersonation scams surged the fastest, rising more than 1,400% year over year, as criminals increasingly use AI tools and phishing-as-a-service infrastructure to scale attacks.

These operations have become highly professionalized, with separate vendors providing phishing kits, victim databases, messaging tools, and laundering services.

A More Professionalized Illicit Ecosystem

Taken together, the findings point to a crypto crime landscape that is becoming more structured and industrialized.

State actors, organized crime groups, and specialized service providers now operate large-scale on-chain infrastructure, offering everything from laundering services to cyberattack tools.

While blockchain transparency still allows investigators to trace many of these activities, Chainalysis warns that the increasing intersection of geopolitics, cybercrime, and crypto finance raises the stakes for regulators and law enforcement.

“On-chain illicit activity is increasingly interwoven with sophisticated, state-aligned ecosystems that exploit crypto’s global reach,” the report notes, highlighting how crypto is reshaping the financial infrastructure used by both criminals and sanctioned states

• KuCoin launches a $1 million USDT airdrop for new futures listings.
• Rewards based on time in market, not trading speed or volume.
• Aims to boost early liquidity in altcoin futures markets.

Crypto exchange KuCoin is rolling out a $1 million airdrop designed to reward traders who hold positions in newly listed futures contracts for longer periods, part of a broader push to stabilize early trading activity around new tokens.

The campaign, titled “Trade New Futures & Share 1M Airdrop,” departs from the quick‑profit competitions typical of crypto trading promotions.

Instead of rewarding high-frequency or large-volume trades, KuCoin will distribute rewards based on how long traders keep their positions open and the size of their exposure.

By measuring “time in market,” the exchange hopes to dampen the speculative surges that often accompany new listings, periods marked by fast price swings and fleeting liquidity.

Officials said the idea is to encourage steadier participation and help new markets mature with fewer distortions from short-term event-driven trading.

The program will allocate its 1 million USDT prize pool over an hourly accrual system, giving consistent participants a share of the rewards while nudging traders toward more deliberate strategies.

Push to broaden altcoin derivatives base

The move comes as KuCoin continues to expand its share of the altcoin futures segment, a space where it already ranks among the top two platforms globally, according to CryptoQuant’s 2025 Annual Exchange Leader Report.

The exchange’s data show that trading in “long-tail” altcoins and the top eight digital assets accounts for more than half of its perpetual futures activity.

Analysts say the latest initiative could help KuCoin deepen liquidity in lesser-traded markets, an area where smaller projects often struggle to sustain stable order books after listing.

By rewarding duration rather than volume, the exchange is betting that traders will be more willing to provide early liquidity to new pairs without fear of heavy early losses triggered by bots or flash volatility.

Founded in 2017, KuCoin says it now serves more than 40 million users worldwide and continues to expand its regulated footprint, with recent licenses in Austria and Australia.

The exchange, which offers spot, futures, and Web3 wallet services, has sought to differentiate itself by leaning into altcoin markets, a niche that remains one of the most competitive arenas in global crypto trading.

The airdrop initiative, available through KuCoin’s campaign page, runs as part of that strategy, aligning trader incentives with the platform’s bid to make new listings more liquid, transparent, and less dominated by short-term speculation.

Key Highlights

• The Trump White House is preparing export regulations that would mandate federal approval for AI chip sales to countries across the globe, extending current limitations worldwide.
• Orders exceeding 1,000 Nvidia GB300 GPUs would undergo government review; installations beyond 200,000 units would need host nation approval.
• Nvidia has discontinued H200 chip manufacturing for the Chinese market at TSMC, redirecting production resources to its forthcoming Vera Rubin chips.
• CFO Colette Kress revealed that Nvidia has recorded no revenue from China sales even with US authorization for certain H200 shipments.
• Jensen Huang indicated Nvidia’s $30 billion OpenAI investment could be its final one, anticipating the AI company’s public offering.

Nvidia $NVDA declined approximately 1.7% on Thursday following back-to-back news developments — both presenting challenges for the semiconductor giant.

NVIDIA Corporation, NVDA

A Bloomberg report revealed the Trump administration is working on new export regulations requiring federal government authorization for AI chip transactions with nearly all nations globally. The news pushed NVDA alongside $AMD, which fell roughly 2%, into negative territory during afternoon sessions.

The planned regulations would transform existing controls — presently applicable to approximately 40 nations — into a comprehensive worldwide licensing system. According to the proposal, any order containing up to 1,000 of Nvidia’s GB300 GPUs would enter a review pipeline, with certain exemption possibilities available.

Bulk purchases face heightened examination. Installations surpassing 200,000 GB300 units controlled by a single entity within one nation would mandate involvement from that country’s government in the authorization process.

Washington would only authorize such massive exports to partner nations that provide security guarantees and commit to investing in US-based AI infrastructure — although the proposal doesn’t define exact investment thresholds.

These regulations don’t constitute an outright prohibition, but they would grant the US Commerce Department extensive authority over AI chip distribution that powers platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini.

Chinese Market Revenue Remains at Zero

In a separate Financial Times report, Nvidia has discreetly halted H200 chip manufacturing for China at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., redirecting that production capability toward its next-generation Vera Rubin chip family.

The two product lines employ distinct technologies and manufacturing processes — H200 utilizes CoWoS-S packaging alongside earlier high-bandwidth memory, whereas Vera Rubin leverages CoWoS-L with the advanced HBM4 specification — meaning the production reallocation doesn’t directly impact availability of either product line.

Nvidia’s Chinese operations have remained in uncertainty for several months. The Trump administration granted H200 export approval to China last December, stipulating the US government receive a 25% revenue share. Previously, Nvidia had been distributing the less powerful H20 chip throughout China — until the administration prohibited those sales last April.

Despite securing federal approval, transactions haven’t materialized. During last week’s quarterly earnings discussion, CFO Colette Kress disclosed that Nvidia has “yet to generate any revenue” from the Chinese market and remains uncertain whether Beijing will permit any chip imports.

Domestic Chinese Competitors Advancing

Kress highlighted an additional challenge: multiple recent public offerings from Chinese semiconductor firms that she noted “have the potential to disrupt the structure of the global AI industry over the long term.” Nvidia maintains it will continue dialogue with both Washington and Beijing.

Regarding OpenAI developments, CEO Jensen Huang stated this week that Nvidia’s $30 billion stake in OpenAI’s $110 billion funding round completed in late February “might be the last time” the chipmaker backs the AI firm, as he anticipates OpenAI will pursue a public listing in the near future. Huang further noted that a previously considered $100 billion investment arrangement with OpenAI is “not in the cards.”

SoFi Technologies has selected digital asset custodian BitGo to support the rollout of its bank-issued stablecoin, the latest sign of growing momentum around federally regulated stablecoins for payments and settlements.

Under the partnership, BitGo will provide stablecoin infrastructure services for SoFiUSD, a US dollar-pegged token issued by SoFi Bank, a nationally chartered and insured depository institution, the companies disclosed Thursday. 

The arrangement will run through BitGo’s “stablecoin-as-a-service” platform, which will support the issuance of SoFiUSD and help connect the token with payment providers, market participants and cryptocurrency exchanges.

SoFi said SoFiUSD is the first stablecoin issued by a US nationally chartered and insured deposit bank on a public, permissionless blockchain.

SoFi Technologies is a publicly traded Nasdaq-listed digital finance company that offers lending, banking and investment products to nearly 14 million members. The company entered the digital asset market in 2019 by adding cryptocurrency trading through its SoFi Invest platform and later secured a national bank charter after acquiring Golden Pacific Bancorp in 2022, establishing SoFi Bank.

Related: Crypto’s 2026 investment playbook: Bitcoin, stablecoin infrastructure, tokenized assets

US companies race to build stablecoin infrastructure

SoFi’s push into the stablecoin market comes amid a broader shift toward regulated digital dollar infrastructure in the United States, following the passage of the GENIUS Act, which establishes a federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins and their issuers.

Against this backdrop, financial technology companies are expanding the infrastructure needed to support stablecoin payments and settlement.

As reported by Cointelegraph, payment operations platform Modern Treasury recently launched an integrated payment service that supports stablecoin rails alongside traditional banking infrastructure. The system enables businesses to settle transactions using stablecoins in addition to conventional payment methods such as ACH transfers and wire payments.

The platform currently supports several dollar-pegged tokens, including USDC (USDC), Global Dollar (USDG) and Pax Dollar (USDP).

Separately, digital asset infrastructure company Stablecore recently joined the Jack Henry Fintech Integration Network, which connects nearly 1,700 financial institutions. The integration enables banks and credit unions on the network to offer stablecoin and tokenized-asset services through their existing banking platforms.

Related: Wall Street’s crypto debate is over as banks go all-in on BTC, stablecoins, tokenized cash