Crypto analytics firm TRM Labs says 99% of stablecoin activity in 2024 was ‘licit’

Crypto analytics firm TRM Labs said that 99% of stablecoin activity in 2024 was “licit,” according to its latest estimates in a report on Tuesday. This is particularly notable considering that TRM also claims that stablecoins now represent over 60% of all crypto transaction volume, an indication that crypto’s association with criminal elements has been — at least — slightly overblown.

TRM Labs is not the only firm to report the increasingly legitimate use of stablecoins. Research firm Artimas has also recently found that business-to-business transfers now represent the largest and fastest-growing percentage of transaction volumes, surpassing peer-to-peer payments. 

“One of their defining features is traceability: because stablecoins operate on public blockchains, they are often more transparent than cash when paired with advanced blockchain analytics. In addition to traceability, stablecoin issuers retain the ability to “freeze” or “burn” illicit proceeds,” the firm wrote in a Tuesday report. 

The news comes as the GENIUS Act, among the most comprehensive stablecoin legislation to date in the U.S., heads to the Senate on Tuesday, where it is expected to pass. 

Driven by a motivated set of bipartisan legislators and President Donald Trump, who has said he hopes to sign a stablecoin law this summer, the bill has created the sense that “regulatory clarity” is coming. Large banks and corporations are now signaling interest in integrating or launching stablecoins, which offer them programmability and global liquidity.

TRM says the GENIUS Act, a sister-bill to the STABLE Act, “marks a clear turning point in U.S. digital asset policy,” which had previously been dominated by “piecemeal” enforcement and unclear rules. “Congress is now laying the foundation for a proactive, legislative approach to oversight.”

In particular, the GENIUS Act outlines a licensing regime, reserve mandates, mandatory audits, consumer protections, and anti-money laundering requirements, which could arguably further weed out illicit use. 

That said, TRM says that stablecoins accounted for 60% of illicit transaction volume across the crypto ecosystem.

“Stablecoins, despite rising interest in privacy coins like Monero, remain the asset choice for terrorist financing and other illicit activity,” the firm found in its Q1 2025 Crypto Crime Report.

In January, TRM Labs found illicit volume was down 24% year-over-year in 2024 to $45 billion, representing just 0.4% of overall crypto transactions. The firm attributed it to increased efforts by law enforcement and crypto industry participants to curb illegal activities.

TRM is part of the T3 Financial Crime Unit (T3 FCU), a joint blockchain intelligence and crime-stopping initiative with Tether and TRON, the most popular blockchain for USDT transactions. 

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