Chainalysis | Crypto

Chainalysis says $75 billion in crypto tied to illicit activity could be recoverable — a figure that may influence nations weighing official crypto reserves. As the United States and other countries weigh the prospect of building national cryptocurrency reserves, new research from Chainalysis suggests governments may already be within reach of tens of billions of dollars in potentially recoverable onchain assets — a development that could intersect with those reserve discussions. In a report published Thursday, Chainalysis estimated that crypto balances linked to illicit activity exceed $75 billion. That total includes roughly $15 billion held directly by illicit entities and more than $60 billion in wallets with downstream exposure to those entities. The blockchain analytics company said darknet market operators and vendors control more than $40 billion in crypto assets on the blockchain. Read more

The region was the fastest growing for on-chain activity, a new Chainalysis report observing transaction data found.

Chainalysis APAC policy lead Chengyi Ong says favorable policy and taxes helped boost crypto in Japan, while stablecoins were popular across the Asia Pacific. Japan’s recent policy shifts have helped the country more than double its crypto adoption over the past year, according to crypto analytics company Chainalysis. Among the top five markets in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, Japan saw the strongest growth, with its value received onchain growing 120% year-on-year in the 12 months to June, according to an excerpt from Chainalysis’ 2025 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report released on Wednesday. Chainalysis’ head of APAC policy, Chengyi Ong, told Cointelegraph that activity in Japan “reflects some of the trends that we saw in the global market, a sharp pickup in trading volumes in the fourth quarter of 2024 on the back of the US presidential election, followed by a tapering.” Read more

The U.S. has jumped from fourth to second place in Chainalysis’ Global Crypto Adoption Index—but the APAC region leads growth.

The US climbed to second in Chainalysis’ 2025 Global Adoption Index rankings, with India taking out top spot and Pakistan, Vietnam and Brazil rounding out the top five. Regulatory momentum in Washington and crypto exchange-traded funds have pushed the US up two spots into second place for crypto adoption, according to Chainalysis. The US trailed only India, which maintained the top spot for the third year in a row, and contributed to the Asia Pacific region being crowned the fastest-growing between July 2024 and June 2025, Chainalysis said in its 2025 Global Adoption Index published on Wednesday. Chainalysis chief economist Kim Grauer told Cointelegraph that crypto adoption is mostly accelerating in mature markets with clearer rules and institutional rails, and in emerging markets where stablecoins are transforming how people manage money. Read more

Tether, alongside Chainalysis, Binance, OKX, and authorities, has frozen $50M USDT traced to pig butchering scams. The case reflects expanding global cooperation against cross-border crypto fraud and illicit financial activity. The post Tether Freezes $49.6M in ‘Pig Butchering’ Funds – Chainalysis, Binance, OKX Join APAC Crackdown appeared first on Cryptonews.

Violent attacks targeting cryptocurrency holders are on track to hit record highs in 2025, with Asia-Pacific among the hardest-hit regions. These "wrench attacks" involve criminals using physical violence to coerce victims into surrendering their digital assets. The post Asia-Pacific Faces Record Bitcoin Thefts and Deadly “Wrench Attacks”—Chainalysis appeared first on Cryptonews.