Stablecoins have cemented their role as core infrastructure in the digital asset economy, with monthly transaction volumes exceeding $1 trillion multiple times in 2025, according to new research from TRM Labs. The data indicates that stablecoins are no longer primarily speculative trading tools but are increasingly used as settlement rails and payment instruments across global markets.
At the same time, the study highlights a sharp concentration of illicit activity within specific networked ecosystems. In 2025, illicit entities received approximately $141 billion through stablecoin wallets. A significant portion of that total was linked to sanctions related activity, which accounted for 86% of all illicit crypto flows during the year. Even when excluding volumes tied to the A7A5 ruble pegged token, stablecoins represented 42% of illicit flows.
The findings suggest that stablecoin usage is not uniform across all crime categories. Sanctions evasion and large scale money laundering operations rely heavily on stablecoins because of their liquidity, price stability and cross border efficiency. By contrast, scams, ransomware and hacking activity often begin in volatile assets such as bitcoin before converting proceeds into stablecoins during the laundering phase.
Sanctions linked networks appear to anchor much of the illicit stablecoin activity. Wallets designated by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control and associated exchanges have historically operated with stablecoins as their primary settlement instrument. In 2025, the emergence of A7A5 further concentrated activity within sanctions connected ecosystems. Onchain analysis revealed extensive bidirectional flows between sanctioned exchanges and networked payment platforms using stablecoins as internal reconciliation rails.
Beyond sanctions, the illicit goods and services category showed near total stablecoin adoption. Much of this activity involves money mover services, informal OTC desks and hybrid facilitators that prioritize transactional certainty over volatility exposure. Stablecoins provide predictable value and low friction transfers, making them suitable for high volume settlement environments.
Guarantee and escrow services also demonstrate the industrialization of stablecoin based laundering infrastructure. According to TRM, quarterly volumes linked to these services rose sharply through mid 2025, with up to 99% of transactions denominated in stablecoins. These entities function as downstream aggregators of criminal proceeds, redistributing funds through brokers and intermediary wallets.
Front company exchanges such as Zedcex and Zedxion further illustrate the pattern. Onchain data showed that roughly 83% of incoming volume to these platforms between 2024 and 2025 was denominated in USDT, suggesting stablecoins serve as the dominant operating rail rather than as diversified trading instruments.
As regulatory debates intensify in the United States and abroad, the data underscores a dual reality. Stablecoins are deeply embedded in legitimate payment and settlement infrastructure while also forming the backbone of certain institutionalized illicit networks. The concentration of risk within specific ecosystems rather than across the entire market may shape future enforcement and policy design.
