Crypto crime surged to unprecedented levels in 2025, fueled by a combination of nation-state activity, large-scale thefts, and increasingly professionalized criminal infrastructure, according to newly compiled data from Chainalysis shared with Bitcoin Magazine. Illicit crypto addresses, an account involved in criminal activities like scams, ransomware, darknet markets, etc, received at least $154 billion over the year - a 162% increase from 2024 - with sanctioned entities accounting for a dramatic 694% of that growth.
Something strange was going on outside 38 Prince Street on Friday. We got a tip that a U-Haul was parked on the block around 2:30 that afternoon and that movers were carrying Aeron chairs and a Hästens mattress out of the federal-style townhouse where, according to Manhattan criminal court records, an Italian businessman had been held captive and tortured by two men looking to get the passwords to his crypto wallets.
