Elliptic warns: Large-scale "pig killing" scams are laundering money through cryptocurrencies

PANews reported on September 26th that according to CoinDesk, blockchain analytics firm Elliptic's "2025 Genre Report" indicates that "pig-killing scams," emotional scams that trick victims into sending funds to fake cryptocurrency projects, have become a multi-billion dollar industry. Criminals are increasingly employing organized money laundering methods, similar to those used by professional financial institutions. They pool victims' deposits into self-hosted wallets, transferring them through a chain of transactions to obscure the source of funds, and may also utilize cross-chain bridges or payment services. A common tactic is the use of "mule accounts" on regulated platforms, which exhibit suspicious characteristics such as identical addresses and repeated IP logins. Operators often work in call centers or warehouses in Southeast Asia, a phenomenon often rooted in these locations. Unlike cash-based crimes, blockchain transactions are transparent, providing regulators with new tools to detect suspicious activity. Furthermore, "pig-killing scams" are just the tip of the iceberg: Sanctioned individuals are increasingly using stablecoins for cross-border transactions.