Key Insights
- CMLNs processed $16.1B in 2025, shifting crypto scam laundering away from centralized exchanges.
- Illicit inflows to CMLNs grew 7,325x faster than to exchanges since 2020.
- Six service types now structure, move, and integrate large-scale illicit crypto flows.
Crypto scam laundering activity moved through Chinese-language money laundering networks in 2025, with these networks processing $16.1 billion in illicit crypto funds. A preview chapter of the Chainalysis 2026 Crypto Crime Report revealed this.
Chainalysis reported that the volume equals about $44 million per day across 1,799+ active wallets, highlighting a shift in how criminal proceeds flow through the crypto ecosystem.
The report showed that Chinese-language money laundering networks, known as CMLNs, processed roughly 20% of known illicit crypto laundering over the past five years. The firm said inflows to identified CMLNs have grown 7,325 times faster than illicit inflows to centralized exchanges since 2020.
In comparison, CMLN inflows grew 1,810 times faster than those to decentralized finance and 2,190 times faster than intra-illicit on-chain flows.
The broader illicit on-chain money laundering ecosystem expanded from $10 billion in 2020 to over $82 billion in 2025, Chainalysis said.
The report linked this expansion to increased crypto liquidity and changes in laundering endpoints, including routes used to move proceeds tied to a crypto scam.
Crypto Scam Laundering Routes Shift as CMLNs Gain Share
Chainalysis said CMLNs emerged at the start of the pandemic and now operate openly across multiple platforms with complex, layered operations.
The crypto scam report described these networks as industrial-scale and technically sophisticated, with operational resilience that allows vendors to migrate when disrupted.
The chapter said CMLNs now consistently launder over 10% of funds stolen in pig butchering scams. At the same time, Chainalysis reported a decline in crypto scam and laundering through centralized exchanges, which can freeze suspicious funds.
Chainalysis said guarantee platforms play a central role in the ecosystem. These services act as marketplaces and escrow infrastructure for vendors but do not control the laundering itself, so they are excluded from the total metric.
The report named Huione and Xinbi as major guarantee platforms in recent years.
Besides, it also cited recent enforcement actions, including sanctions designations against the Prince Group by the U.S. Treasury Department’s OFAC and the UK’s OFSI.
The chapter also referenced FinCEN’s Final Rule designating Huione Group as a primary money laundering concern, as well as a FinCEN advisory on Chinese money laundering networks.
Chainalysis said these actions disrupted operations, but vendors often shifted channels rather than shutting down.
Six Service Types Define the CMLN Ecosystem
Chainalysis identified six service categories within the CMLN ecosystem:
- running point brokers
- money mules
- informal OTC/P2P services
- Black U services
- gambling services
- money movement services that provide mixing and swapping.
Running point brokers act as entry points, Chainalysis said. These operators recruit individuals to rent out financial identities, including bank accounts and exchange deposit addresses.
The report said these brokers route the crypto scam funds to other laundering services, exchanges, and platforms tied to the Huione ecosystem.
Money mules handle layering, the report said, and move funds through networks of accounts and wallets. Chainalysis described methods that include in-person exchanges, ATM withdrawals converted to crypto, third-party payment platforms, and card-based schemes.
Vendor posts cited cross-border coordination, including operations across Africa, suggesting a broader reach for funds linked to a crypto scam and other crimes.
Chainalysis said that informal OTC services do not comply with oversight or KYC requirements. Other operators were marketed as clean funds or White U, yet on-chain revealed close relationships between OTC services and guarantee platforms such as Huione.
Chainalysis alleged that Black U services deal in illegally obtained crypto at a lower price. The services had processed funds of up to 1 billion in 236 days, compared to running point brokers at 843 days and OTC services at 1,136 days.
Money mules reached the level in 1,277 days, whereas money movement services took 1,790 days. The report indicated that gambling insider services were not in tune with 1 billion.