In 2025, we tracked a notable rise in nation-state activity in crypto, marking the latest phase in the maturation of the illicit on-chain ecosystem. Over the past few years, the crypto crime landscape has become increasingly professionalized; illicit organizations now operate large-scale on-chain infrastructure to help transnational criminal networks procure goods and services and launder their ill-gotten crypto. Against that backdrop, we have seen nation-states moving into this space, both by tapping into these same professionalized service providers and by standing up their own bespoke infrastructure to evade sanctions at scale. As nation-states plug into the illicit crypto supply chains originally built for cybercriminals and organized crime groups, government agencies and compliance and security teams now face significantly higher stakes on both the consumer protection and national security fronts.
Crypto Crime Reaches Record High in 2025 as Nation‑State Sanctions Evasion Moves On‑Chain at Scale (Chainalysis)
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