Study finds $187.75B high-risk crypto exchange flows

TLDR

A new Global Ledger study finds about 187.75 billion dollars in crypto exchange flows linked to high?risk activity from 2021 to 2025, concentrated on a small set of platforms.

1. The report flags 99 exchanges, with just 10 platforms accounting for over 90 percent of the identified high?risk exposure.
2. Risky flows remain a small share of total volumes, but are heavily skewed to sanctions?linked activity and USDT on Tron rather than Bitcoin.
3. Regulators and compliant venues are likely to use this data to justify tighter controls and screening, and users should expect more scrutiny around large and cross?border transfers.

Deep Dive

1. What The Study Measured

Global Ledgers High?Risk Benchmark, summarized by crypto.news, analyzed 36.28 trillion dollars of deposits and withdrawals in Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT on Tron across 99 exchanges from 2021 to 2025.

It identified 187.75 billion dollars in high?risk exposure, meaning flows traced up to five hops from wallets tied to sanctions, crime or other risky entities. One unnamed exchange alone accounted for 70.84 billion dollars and more than 40 percent of all flagged inflows, showing how concentrated the problem is.

Importantly, exposure here indicates proximity to high?risk sources, not proof that exchanges knowingly enabled illicit activity.

2. How Big The Risk Is In Context

Annual high?risk exposure fell from 60.80 billion dollars in 2021 to 23.85 billion in 2023, then rose to 34.61 billion in 2025, suggesting some improvement followed by a partial rebound.

In 2025, risky flows were about 0.50 percent of deposits and 0.21 percent of withdrawals, with a five?year average of 0.42 percent of outflows. That is small relative to total volumes but still material in regulatory terms.

Sanctions related flows dominate the risk perimeter, generating 74.09 billion dollars over five years and more than half of 2025s risky inflows and outflows. USDT on Tron made up around two thirds of flagged inflows and over 80 percent of outflows in 2025, while Bitcoins share of risky inflows dropped sharply despite still being roughly 40 percent of total deposits.

3. Exchange, Regulatory And User Impact

The study shows that a handful of exchanges and specific asset rails carry most of the identified high?risk exposure, giving regulators and compliance teams clear targets.

After US action against Garantex in March 2025, its flagged inflows fell nearly 99 percent and outflows about 99.7 percent, illustrating how enforcement can rapidly shrink risky activity on a venue.

For everyday users, the practical impact is more monitoring of large transfers, stricter KYC, and potential de?risking of certain chains and stablecoin corridors, especially when sanctions lists are involved.

Conclusion

The 187.75 billion dollar figure highlights that high?risk crypto activity is large in dollar terms but relatively small versus total exchange volume, and mostly concentrated on specific venues and rails. Exchanges that improve screening and respond quickly to sanctions appear able to cut exposure sharply, while regulators get more data to justify targeted crackdowns, meaning users should expect continued tightening rather than a hands?off environment.