China-based chemical firms have earned millions in cryptocurrency by supplying fentanyl substances to drug cartels: reports
- Elliptic, a London-based blockchain analytics firm, says it identified more than 90 China-based chemicals firms willing to sell fentanyl precursors
- Most popular crypto token accepted by these suppliers is bitcoin, followed by the stablecoin Tether (USDT), according to Elliptic report
Chinese chemicals companies suspected of supplying the base substances to produce fentanyl to overseas drug cartels have earned tens of millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies, according to two blockchain research firms, highlighting the criminal use of digital assets in China despite Beijing’s ban.
Elliptic, a London-based blockchain analytics firm, said in a report published on Wednesday that it had identified more than 90 China-based chemicals companies that were willing to sell them fentanyl precursors and to take cryptocurrencies as a payment method.
The cryptocurrency wallets used by these companies have received thousands of payments over the past few years, totalling more than US$27 million, according to the firm. The most popular crypto token accepted by these suppliers is bitcoin, followed by the stablecoin Tether (USDT), Elliptic said in the report.
The findings show that despite the Chinese government’s sweeping ban on cryptocurrency transactions in the country, some citizens are still finding ways to secure and use digital assets, sometimes through means that are illegal even beyond China’s shores.