Stablecoins: The New Currency of Online Criminals

Dollar-Pegged Tokens Trade Volatility for Convenience But Are Easier to Track Suparna Goswami (gsuparna) , Rashmi Ramesh (rashmiramesh_) • October 7, 2025

Criminals are swapping volatility for predictability: stablecoins tied to the U.S. dollar offer certainty and cross-chain speed needed to scale theft, forcing investigators to shift from post-fact subpoenas to real-time chain tracking.

See Also: The Rising Threat of Fake Business Accounts

Bitcoin was the dominant currency of choice for cybercriminals in 2021, largely because of its liquidity. But stablecoins now account for 63% of all illicit crypto transactions, said Jacqueline Burns Koven, head of cyberthreat intelligence at Chainalysis.

The shift reflects a broader market dynamic, Koven told Information Security Media Group. Stablecoin usage has surged, growing about 77% year-over-year in 2024, according to Chainalysis data published in January. Those figures capture both legal demands such as remittances, cross-border payments and value storage - the same liquidity and accessibility ...