Crypto’s troubling connection to human trafficking
Chainalysis released some pretty sobering data this week. Their 2026 Crypto Crime Report shows that cryptocurrency payments to suspected human trafficking services jumped by 85% in 2025. The firm estimates these transactions reached “hundreds of millions of dollars” across identified services, though they’re careful to note this is probably an undercount.
Tom McLouth, an intelligence analyst at Chainalysis, called the findings “industry-defining.” He pointed out that people don’t really talk about human trafficking within the crypto ecosystem. “I think one of the primary reasons is that this is a relatively taboo subject,” he told Decrypt. “People don’t like to sit at the dinner table and talk about CSAM and industrialized exploitation.”
Breaking down the transaction patterns
The report gives us some insight into how these payments work. For Telegram-based international escort networks, nearly half of transfers exceeded $10,000 in 2025. About 62% of prostitution network transactions fell between $1,000 and $10,000. Recruitment payments for labor trafficking operations typically ranged in that same bracket.
Child sexual abuse material transactions were different—much smaller, with roughly half being under $100. But the scale is still shocking. One CSAM site used more than 5,800 cryptocurrency addresses and generated over $530,000 since July 2022. The Internet Watch Foundation identified more than 312,000 reports of child sexual abuse imagery in 2025 alone.
Blockchain data shows crypto moving from the U.S., UK, Brazil, Spain, and Australia into Southeast Asian hubs. Many publicly accessible CSAM sites rely on U.S.-based hosting infrastructure, which McLouth thinks is strategic. “To target those victims, because there is a belief that there is more wealth in English-speaking Western states, they have to leverage infrastructure within those states to better target those potential victims,” he explained.
Payment methods and platforms evolving
Bitcoin remains widely used, but there’s growing reliance on stablecoins among prostitution and labor trafficking networks. These can be converted into local currency through Chinese-language money laundering networks. CSAM vendors are increasingly turning to Monero because of its privacy features.
What’s interesting is how these operations have moved. Criminal activities that once operated primarily on the dark web now use mainstream platforms too. The report found trafficking-related services rely on Telegram-based “guarantee services” like Tudou and Xinbi, which hold crypto in escrow until transactions are confirmed.
Telegram recruitment channels tied to Southeast Asian scam compounds discuss transporting detained workers across borders. McLouth noted that Telegram has made efforts to curb crime using its app, but some guarantee services have created their own third-party applications advertised on app stores like Apple and Google Play.
A broader conversation needed
McLouth emphasized something important—while crypto continues to play a role in these crimes, that number pales in comparison to the role of fiat currencies. “From the perspective of crypto, we want to emphasize that crypto isn’t enabling the crime,” he said. “Crypto is allowing us to expose it, and provides new opportunities for countering it.”
Still, the figures don’t bode well for 2026. McLouth thinks this should prompt a broader conversation about enforcement and accountability. “We don’t focus on specific figures because it can undersell the human toll,” he said. “This is real human trafficking, real sex trafficking, real labor trafficking. These are real people being affected.”
The timing of this report is notable. Crypto faces renewed scrutiny in criminal investigations, with Justice Department disclosures detailing early crypto investments by Jeffrey Epstein and his connections to high-profile industry figures. There’s also the reported Bitcoin ransom demand in the kidnapping case involving Nancy Guthrie, mother of “Today” show anchor Savannah Guthrie.
McLouth made a good point about why these large-scale crypto-linked crimes are harder to personalize than cases tied to well-known names. “We’re not able to say this one specific person is doing this one specific crime,” he noted. “Jeffrey Epstein, as we see in the news, is a name everyone can latch onto. But for an entire ecosystem, an entire industry, we’re not able to do that.”
Perhaps the most important takeaway is that blockchain transparency might actually help combat these crimes. The immutable record of transactions creates opportunities for law enforcement that don’t exist with traditional financial systems. But that requires resources, coordination, and a willingness to tackle uncomfortable subjects head-on.
