Chainalysis said cryptocurrency flows to suspected human trafficking services, largely based in Southeast Asia, rose 85 percent in 2025, reaching hundreds of millions of dollars, in findings that tied the growth to Southeast Asia-based scam compounds, online gambling and Chinese-language money laundering networks operating largely via Telegram, according to its 2026 Crypto Crime Report.
The Chainalysis analysis described victims who were lured by fake job offers and trafficked into scam compounds where they were coerced into operating romance and investment scams under threat of violence. The report said the transparency of blockchain technology provides unprecedented visibility into these operations, creating opportunities for detection and disruption that would be impossible with traditional payment methods.
HOW TRAFFICKING USED CRYPTO
The report tracks Telegram-based “labor placement” agents that facilitate kidnapping and forced labour for scam compounds. These operations use guarantee services’ “human resource” vendors to facilitate recruitment, the report said. Recruitment payments to 'labour placement' agents typically ranged from $1,000 to $10,000, the report said, creating identifiable transaction patterns on public ledgers.
“International escort” services and prostitution networks operate almost exclusively using stablecoins, and 48.8% of “international escort” service transfers exceeded $10,000, according to the report. The report said these escort services are tightly integrated with Chinese-language money laundering networks, which rapidly convert USD stablecoins into local currencies.
REGULATORY AND MARKET IMPLICATIONS
The report said most of these services' cryptocurrency moves through mainstream exchanges, institutional platforms and guarantee services such as Tudou and Xinbi, which also serve as critical chokepoints where compliance teams can detect and investigate suspicious patterns.
Chainalysis listed indicators for compliance teams and law enforcement to monitor, including large, regular payments to labour placement services paired with cross-border transactions, high-volume transactions through guarantee platforms, regular stablecoin conversion patterns and connections to Telegram-based recruitment channels.
Chainalysis said the growing sophistication of these operations requires a comprehensive monitoring approach that leverages blockchain analysis alongside traditional anti-trafficking efforts and public education.
The report also found significant cryptocurrency flows to Chinese-language “international escort” services from countries including Brazil, the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain and Australia.
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