2025 Stablecoin Volume Exceeds $35 Trillion, Illegal Activity Below 0.5%

According to CoinDesk, a recent report by blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs shows that the total transaction volume of stablecoins in 2025 reached at least $35 trillion—a nearly 20% increase from $27.5 trillion in 2024—with illicit activity accounting for less than 0.5% (approximately 0.4%). • Illicit entities received approximately $141 billion in stablecoins—the highest in five years—but this activity was highly concentrated in sanctions evasion and large-scale money laundering networks. • Sanctions-related activity accounted for 86% of all illicit crypto flows, with the Russian-linked ruble-pegged stablecoin A7A5 processing $72 billion in illicit inflows (dominating the trend). • Despite the rise in absolute illicit amounts, the declining share reflects explosive growth in legitimate use cases such as payments and settlements: monthly transaction volumes exceeded $1 trillion multiple times in 2025. • TRM emphasized that stablecoins have become core infrastructure, with illicit activity highly concentrated in specific networks (such as the A7A5 ecosystem), while mainstream stablecoins like USDT and USDC exhibit extremely low levels of illicit activity.