Chinese money laundering networks (CMLNs) now dominate global activity thanks to illicit cryptocurrency flows, Chainalysis has warned.
The blockchain analytics firm said its analysis revealed Chinese-language money launderers processed 20% of these funds over the past five years. Last year alone, the value of these was estimated at $16bn – approximately $44m per day across 1799+ active wallets.
They’ve helped the global money laundering ecosystem grow from $10bn in 2020 to over $82bn last year.
“This substantial topline growth reflects the growing accessibility and liquidity of cryptocurrencies, as well as a fundamental shift in how this laundering activity occurs and by whom,” Chainalysis said in a report yesterday.
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CMLNs are increasingly preferred to centralized exchanges, which can freeze suspect funds. Some 10% of the funds stolen in romance baiting (pig butchering) scams is attributed to these networks.
Compared to other laundering endpoints, money laundering inflows to CMLNs grew 7325 times faster than those to centralized exchanges, the report claimed. They also grew 1810 times faster than those to decentralized finance (DeFi) and 2190 times faster than “intra-illicit on-chain flows.”
Uncovering Six Service Types
Chainalysis investigated 1799 active on-chain wallets linked to CMLNs in 2025. It claimed they fell into one of six service types, with some ramping up activity to launder $1bn+ just 236 days after launching.
They market themselves via platforms like Huione Guarantee and Xinbi, which also provide handy escrow infrastructure.
“As with legitimate e-commerce platforms, service ratings and reviews create accountability within the illicit ecosystem, and vendors often cultivate their market reputation through public attestations of their reliability and service quality,” said Chainalysis.
The six CMLN typologies are:
- Running point brokers, which serve as entry channels for illicit fund transfers. Individuals are recruited through ads to “rent out” their bank accounts, digital wallets or deposit addresses at mainstream exchanges
- Money mule motorcades, which orchestrate the layering phase by forming networks of accounts and wallets to hide the origin of funds. Transactions often switch between fiat and crypto. They could include: ATM cash withdrawals converted to crypto; digital wallet transfers through third-party payment platforms; and credit cards and gift cards exchanged for crypto
- Over-the-counter (OTC) and P2P services, which process fund transfers without know your customer (KYC) checks. They are advertised as “clean funds” or “White U” and charge exchange rates that exceed market rates
- Black U services, whereby buyers purchase illicitly sourced funds knowingly at 10-20% below standard exchange rates
- Gambling services such as casinos and online betting platforms which offer an effective way to “place, layer, and integrate proceeds” into the regular financial system. Most accept crypto and do not require KYC details
- Money movement services: specialist vendors offer “swapping-as-a-service” to enable clients to convert crypto into multiple assets