Cryptocrime has begun to adapt to the space of a professionalized era dominated by artificial intelligence-driven scams, stablecoin laundering, and effective cyber syndicates.
The mentioned statement is contained in the 2025 Crypto Crime Report by Chainalysis. It was also noted in this case that last year the total volume of illegal transactions reached $51 billion. This is a record figure that exceeds preliminary forecasts and expectations. Cryptocrime is on what can be described as a trajectory of undoubted growth. The corresponding type of crime turned out to be more intense compared to the preliminary assumptions about it.
It is worth noting that the initial estimates envisioned a reduction in cybercrime in 2024. However, the reality in this case turned out to be more severe as an existing state of affairs and less optimistic in terms of the most likely future prospects. The results of an in-depth analysis indicate that criminals have adopted advanced money laundering techniques using stablecoins, decentralized finance, and artificial intelligence-powered deception. As noted by experts, against the background of the scaling of the mentioned practice, something like an illusion has formed that cybercrime is on a downward trajectory, becoming a less active and less sensitive threat.
The days of the so-called lone hackers are in the past. Also, currently, the shadow markets of the darknet are a story that, in the context of the processes implemented in the space of modernity, no longer belongs to the category of sensitive impacting factors. The 2025 Crypto Crime Report by Chainalysis contains a very grim description of highly professional cybercrime networks dominated by fraudulent cartels, nation-state hackers, and artificial intelligence-powered scams. This description is gloomy primarily in the sense that the mentioned networks contain a significant threat to security in the cyber environment.
Ransomware payments in 2024 fell by 35% year-on-year. At the same time, this positive dynamic is definitely not the final victory in the complex battle against cybercrime that is aimed at stealing personal funds in the virtual space. Recently, there has been a tendency in the framework of which criminals operating in the digital environment to abandon Bitcoin in favor of stablecoins and decentralized finance.
Bitcoin has been actively used by cybercriminals for many years. However, the relevant practice has undergone fundamental changes in 2022. The Chainalysis report indicates a seismic shift to stablecoins, which currently account for 63% of all illegal crypto transactions.
Criminals make a choice in favor of stablecoins because in this case, they get access to a cryptocurrency that provides speed, liquidity, and the so-called regulatory blind spots. As part of this practice, the process of conducting illegal transactions is simplified, and tracking operations data is made more difficult. Unlike Bitcoin, which can experience longer confirmation times, stablecoins provide almost instant transactions and stability pegged to the US dollar.
The mentioned factors make stablecoins ideal for laundering large amounts of money without any concern about price fluctuations. In this case, transaction tracking becomes more complicated due to faster shifts through mixers, cross-chains, and decentralized finance protocols that obscure the origin of operations and evade detection. This pivot signals a growing preference for more efficient financial tools in the evolving landscape of crypto crime.
At the same time, stablecoin issuers are fighting back. For example, Tether froze hundreds of addresses associated with illegal activities, which forced criminals to look for alternatives. Some of them have turned to Monero, private wallets, and money laundering schemes based on decentralized finance.
In a certain sense, the figures that demonstrate a decrease in ransomware attacks are formal in the context of a broader estimate of the state of affairs. Last year, the corresponding payments fell by 35%. At first glance, the mentioned dynamic indicates that victims and regulators, as part of the fight against cybercriminals, have begun to win and move forward in ensuring security at a strategic level. However, in this case, the figures indicating an improvement in the situation at the same time indicate profound changes, reflecting a transformation not in favor of optimistic conclusions. Ransomware groups have not disappeared and have not become an irrelevant nightmare of the past days in dreams that cannot be material by definition, about material losses. These groups have carried out rebranding, diversification, and adaptation. Following the takedown of LockBit, smaller ransomware-as-a-service groups such as RansomHub have absorbed ousted operators, demonstrating how cybercrime networks quickly adapt to enforcement actions.
Another segment of the cryptocrime space continues to thrive. A contributing factor to the mentioned state of affairs is simple market manipulation. Decentralized exchanges continue to be a fertile ground for wash trading, in which fraudsters orchestrate schemes that inflate trading volumes and deceive investors. Crypto company CLS Global pleaded guilty to wash-trading a token made by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for a cyber sting operation.
The crypto market continues to suffer from wash trading, fake volumes, and pump-and-dump schemes. The data contained in the Chainalysis report indicates that the volume of illicit trade amounted to $2.57 billion last year. The relevant methods rely on creating the illusion of demand through automated trading bots that quickly buy and sell tokens to artificially inflate prices. This fabricated activity deceives new investors, making them believe that the project is really gaining momentum. The fast-growing green candle and seemingly organic volume draw in new investors with the promise of quick gains.
As soon as a sufficient number of unsuspecting buyers enter the market, insiders dump their holdings. In this case, the price collapses, and retail investors are left with worthless tokens. This cycle is known as the classic pump-and-dump. Decentralized exchanges continue to face relevant practices, against which confidence in the cryptocurrency markets is declining. Last year, 3.59% of all new tokens minted displayed classic rug-pull behavior.
Chainalysis’s report also covers the rise of laundering-as-a-service platforms. Besides, in this case, attention was drawn to the decline in revenue in the darknet market and the growing role of artificial intelligence in crypto scams. Moreover, the report contains information that North Korean hackers stole a record $1.34 billion. The collapse of major ransomware groups such as LockBit was also mentioned. Special attention was paid to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s crackdown on $2.57 billion in market manipulation schemes. The report also shows the evolution of crime and the increasing global response to it with detailed case studies and forensic insights.
Regulators and criminals continue to be on the battlefield, which is digital but at the same time is a source of concrete material consequences. In this case, there is a kind of arms race. Criminals and regulators seek to use cutting-edge technology in their operations. Technologies, including artificial intelligence, are on the trajectory of intensive and continuous development. It is against this background that the arms race is taking shape.
According to media reports, expectations are currently actively circulating that regulation of stablecoins will gradually tighten. The relevant point of view is based on a fair and logical confidence that governments will respond to the growing role of stablecoins in money laundering.
It is also currently expected that the practice of using artificial intelligence in fraud will scale exponentially. Against this background, there are concerns that the detection of deepfake scams, synthetic identities, and automated phishing attacks will become much more difficult in the near future. At the same time, the tactics of ransomware are likely to evolve. In the relevant context, a shifting focus from ransom payments to data theft and extortion is expected.
Cybercriminals are also likely to find new ways to pressure their victims. Law enforcement agencies will strengthen their opposition to the relevant practice. Obviously, criminals will react to this. Mutual opposition will form a situation of intensified battle between regulators and illegal actors. To a large extent, the results of this struggle, which are likely to be only interim, will shape the position of cryptocurrencies in global finance.
Crime can be described as a socio-economic phenomenon characteristic of human civilization. This phenomenon is already a historical process that, most likely, will not be overcome by the current living generations. In general, the possibility of finally defeating crime is to a certain extent a philosophical issue that has many semantic ramifications. Currently, the world is digitalizing, gaining a new, virtual dimension that becoming a full-fledged space of livelihood. This is the natural basis for the digitalization of crime. The risk of increased losses from cybercrime is more than significant. As the mechanisms for committing crimes in the virtual space become more complex, users’ attentiveness and caution will lose their effectiveness as a counteraction tool, but it will not become completely useless. The corresponding prospects do not mean a certain doom against the background of the challenge from cybercrime. In this case, it implies a tougher struggle for financial security in the digital environment.
As we have reported earlier, Scammers Use Social Media Selfies and GenAI.
