Chinese Money Launderers Drive Global Ecosystem Worth $82bn

Chainalysis warns that Chinese money laundering networks (CMLNs) now dominate illicit crypto laundering, handling roughly 20% of such flows over the past five years and $16B last year (~$44M/day) across 1,799+ wallets, helping expand global laundering from $10B in 2020 to over $82B. Preferred over centralized exchanges, these networks market via platforms like Huione Guarantee and Xinbi and operate six service types: running point brokers, money mule motorcades, OTC/P2P services offering "clean funds"/"White U," "Black U" discounted illicit funds, gambling platforms, and money movement/swapping-as-a-service—supporting scams such as romance baiting (pig butchering) and growing far faster than exchanges, DeFi, or intra-illicit flows.