Illicit Crypto Inflows Surge to $158 Billion in 2025 Amid Sanctions and Russian Dominance

Illicit cryptocurrency inflows skyrocketed to $158 billion in 2025, marking a 145% increase from $64.5 billion the previous year. This rebound follows a steady decline from $85.9 billion in 2021 to a low of $64.5 billion in 2024, according to TRM Labs. The spike is attributed to tougher sanctions, broader government adoption of crypto, and the deployment of Beacon Network—a tech platform enabling faster sharing of wallet intelligence among investigators.

Russian-linked wallets accounted for the lion’s share of illicit flows, with the A757 token alone absorbing $72 billion in dirty money. An additional $39 billion flowed directly to the A7 wallet group, collectively representing over 80% of sanctions-related volume. TRM identified Garantex, Grinex, and A7 as key players, alongside A7A5—a ruble-backed stablecoin tied to Russia’s de-dollarization strategy.

Despite the absolute increase, illicit activity’s share of total crypto traffic fell to 1.5% in 2025, down from 1.7% in 2024 and 3.5% in 2023. Similarly, only 2.7% of new inflows reached high-risk wallets, compared to 2.9% in 2024 and 6.0% in 2023. The data underscores a paradox: while criminal volumes grow, they’re shrinking relative to the explosive expansion of legitimate crypto flows.