Illegal Crypto Activity in Australia Remains Less than 1%: TRM Report

Less than 1% of Australia’s crypto transactions are tied to illegal players, as such organizations in the country process $50 billion in one year.

Illegal activity accounts for only a small part of Australia’s cryptocurrency ecosystem, as adoption of the digital asset continues to grow.

According to an analysis by TRM Labs, less than 1% of the country’s total crypto on-chain activity between March 2025 and February 2026 was linked to illegal partners, which highlights that the majority of activity takes place within the legal framework of financial and commercial use.

Australia’s Crypto Ecosystem

At the same time, Australian crypto organizations processed about $50 billion in total on-chain transaction volume, while the country recorded about $15 billion in inflows from centralized exchanges and decentralized financial platforms.

Among the 95 countries analyzed, TRM Labs said Australia ranked 20th for the total amount of crypto acquired, placing it in the top quartile globally.

Despite the growing role of digital assets in Australia’s financial system, exposure to criminal activity remains small compared to the overall level of activity. Fines-related activity accounted for the largest share of illegal exposure and represented approximately 70% of the total illegal volume identified during the period.

Darknet markets are ranked as the second largest category, followed by investment fraud and illegal goods and services. Small amounts of illegal activity are linked to categories including banned content, ransomware, scams, terrorist financing, and many cybercrimes. The findings reveal that while criminal actors continue to integrate cryptocurrency into existing forms of financial crime, such activity still represents a very small portion of the overall use of blockchain.

From Drug Markets to Widespread Crime

Historically, the first crypto-related cases in Australia were often associated with drug markets, but the ecosystem has diversified as adoption has expanded and digital assets have been integrated into many areas of financial activity. At the same time, the authorities have strengthened regulatory and enforcement structures.

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The country has required digital currency exchanges to register with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Center since 2018, subjecting it to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financial obligations such as customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, and suspicious news reporting.

Meanwhile, Australia received its first crypto-related money-laundering conviction in 2025 following Operation Taipan, a multi-year investigation led by Victoria Police into a fraud company linked to China using digital asset infrastructure.