$312 Billion Laundered Through US Banks — But Crypto Still Gets the Blame 🤔

[johnblockbuster]

A new FinCEN advisory just dropped, and the numbers are staggering:

Between 2020 and 2024, US banks handled an estimated $312 billion in laundered money tied to Chinese networks. That averages out to over $62 billion a year flowing through the US financial system — not exactly pocket change.

How It Works

Chinese laundering networks have essentially partnered with Mexico-based drug cartels.

Cartels need to wash US dollar drug proceeds.

Chinese gangs desperately want US dollars to get around strict Chinese currency controls.

Result? A symbiotic black-market bromance.

FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki summed it up: these networks don’t just wash drug money — they’re also knee-deep in human trafficking, healthcare fraud, elder abuse, and a cool $53.7 billion in shady real estate deals.

But Wait… Isn’t Crypto Supposed to Be the Big Bad? 🧐

Here’s where things get spicy: despite these massive numbers, politicians ( Elizabeth Warren) keep pointing fingers at crypto as the main villain in money laundering.

Warren has repeatedly warned that criminals are “increasingly turning to cryptocurrency.”

And yes, illicit activity exists in crypto… but perspective matters.

According to Chainalysis:

Illicit crypto activity over the last five years = $189 billion.

US banks laundered $312 billion in just four years — and that’s only from Chinese networks.

For even more context:

Global money laundering (UN estimate): > $2 trillion every year.

Crypto’s illicit volume: < 1% of total crypto transactions (per TRM Labs).

The Takeaway

Traditional banks remain the real laundromats for global crime, while crypto is often scapegoated because it’s new, flashy, and easier to demonize.

FinCEN’s findings highlight a broader truth: organized crime runs on fiat pipelines, not blockchains.

What do you think — is crypto unfairly treated, or does the space still need stricter guardrails to avoid becoming the next $312B headline?

[Nahid10]

The numbers speak for themselves — $312B laundered through banks vs. $189B in crypto over 5 years. Yet, crypto is always painted as the big bad wolf. Reality check: fiat rails remain the backbone of global crime. Crypto is transparent by design, and blockchain forensics makes it traceable. The real laundering machine is still the traditional banking system.

[Jibon_RX]

Crazy how the spotlight always falls on crypto while the traditional system quietly launders hundreds of billions. This report really shows where the real pipelines are.

[jacson4]

Yes, banks dwarf crypto in laundering volume, but that doesn’t mean crypto gets a free pass. The industry needs stronger guardrails — not to please politicians, but to build trust. The difference is crypto has the tools (on-chain analytics, ZK compliance) to make laundering harder if regulators adopt them wisely. Blaming crypto alone ignores the bigger picture, but ignoring risks within crypto would be just as dangerous.

[Maxwell]

$312B laundered through US banks vs. $189B in crypto over 5 years — the numbers speak for themselves. Traditional finance is still the bigger laundromat.

[rafihasan]

Guardrails are fine, but let’s not ignore the elephant in the room: crime follows the biggest money pipelines — and that’s still fiat.