Crypto Illicit Activity Plummets to Near-Zero as Exchanges Ramp Up Compliance

Illicit activity on major centralized cryptocurrency exchanges has fallen to record lows, with Binance reporting the lowest rate in the industry, according to independent analyses from Chainalysis and TRM Labs.

Across the seven largest exchanges, the share of trading volume tied to illicit sources in June 2025 ranged from 0.018% to 0.023%, meaning over 99.97% of global exchange activity is now clean.

Binance stands out with an illicit volume of just 0.007% per Chainalysis or 0.016% per TRM Labs, both well below the industry average, despite handling volumes comparable to its six largest competitors combined.

The sharp decline is linked to heavy investments in compliance, including a team of over 1,280 specialists, hundreds of millions of dollars annually in automated monitoring and KYC technologies, and responses to more than 240,000 law-enforcement requests.

Binance has also led 400+ training programs globally and joined multi-exchange initiatives like Beacon Network and T3+ with partners such as TRON and Tether, contributing to a 96–98% reduction in illicit exposure from January 2023 to June 2025.

In contrast, traditional financial systems continue to facilitate trillions in untraceable illicit flows annually, while blockchain's transparency enables precise tracking and mitigation.

This trend signals a maturing crypto market where compliance is becoming a competitive advantage, fostering trust and supporting institutional adoption.