{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,12]],"date-time":"2026-10-12T06:47:23Z","timestamp":1791787643176,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790553600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790553600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000155","name":"social sciences and humanities research council of canada","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["435-2022-0862"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["435-2022-0862"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000155","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,11]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Cryptocurrency mixers have played a growing role in facilitating money laundering. This article examines 32 mixer-related court cases to identify criminogenic patterns in offender roles, laundering practices, and enforcement outcomes. Results indicate that mixer-enabled cryptocurrency money laundering is concentrated among a small number of services, with five mixers linked to over $6 billion in illicit funds. Non-custodial mixers processed the majority of total cryptocurrency volume, while centralized mixers transferred most funds tied directly to predicate criminal offenses. Laundering schemes were dominated by Bitcoin and Ether, with altcoins playing ancillary roles. The identified core actor types\u2014overseers, personal users, and enablers\u2014highlight the networked and multi-layered structure of mixer-based laundering. Decentralized services, regulatory arbitrage, and rapid mixer substitution following takedowns contribute to mixer resilience. Reactive enforcement strategies experience limitations. Proactive, internationally coordinated responses to mixer-enabled financial crime are needed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/10439862261487891","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T12:04:41Z","timestamp":1790597081000},"page":"646-669","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Crypto-Crime Tumblers: Criminogenic Attributes of Cryptocurrency Mixers in Enabling Financial Crime and Money Laundering"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"42","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-9368-9238","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wesley","family":"Kwan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Queen\u2019s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9498-4749","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christian","family":"Leuprecht","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Queen\u2019s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada"},{"name":"Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_4_2_1","unstructured":"Betts A. (2025 February 13). U.S. releases Russian cybercriminal as part of exchange for teacher Marc Fogel. The Guardian. https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/feb\/13\/russian-alexander-vinnik-marc-fogel"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Brownworth A. Durfee J. Lee M. J. Martin A. (2024). Regulating decentralized systems: Evidence from sanctions on Tornado Cash [Federal Reserve Bank of New York staff reports]. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.59576\/sr.1112","DOI":"10.59576\/sr.1112"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Burgess A. Hamilton R. Leuprecht C. (2024). Terror on the blockchain: The emergent crypto-crime-terror nexus. In Goldbarsht D. de Koker L. (Eds.) Financial crime law and governance: Navigating challenges in different contexts (pp. 203\u2013227). Springer. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/978-3-031-59547-9_9","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-031-59547-9_9"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_5_1","unstructured":"Canellis D. (2025 July 23). Why Bitcoin\u2019s biggest mixer walked away from \u201chuge profits.\u201d Blockworks. https:\/\/blockworks.com\/news\/bitmixer-walked-away-2017"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Carletti R. Luo X. Adelopo I. (2024). Understanding criminogenic features: Case studies of cryptocurrencies-based financial crimes. Journal of Financial Crime 32(3) 681\u2013705. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/jfc-06-2024-0176","DOI":"10.1108\/JFC-06-2024-0176"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_7_1","unstructured":"Chainalysis. (2022a July 14). Crypto mixer usage reaches all-time highs in 2022 with nation state actors and cybercriminals contributing significant volume. https:\/\/www.chainalysis.com\/blog\/crypto-mixer-criminal-volume-2022\/"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_8_1","unstructured":"Chainalysis. (2022b August 23). Crypto mixers and AML compliance. https:\/\/www.chainalysis.com\/blog\/crypto-mixers\/"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_9_1","unstructured":"Chainalysis. (2024a). The 2024 crypto crime report: The latest trends in ransomware scams hacking and more. https:\/\/www.chainalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/the-2024-crypto-crime-report-release.pdf"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_10_1","unstructured":"Chainalysis. (2024b). The 2024 geography of crypto report: Everything you need to know about regional trends in crypto adoption. https:\/\/www.chainalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/the-2024-geography-of-crypto-report-release.pdf"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_11_1","unstructured":"Chainalysis. (2025). The 2025 crypto crime report: The rising role of cryptocurrency in all forms of crime and how its transparency is creating unique opportunities for investigation. https:\/\/www.chainalysis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/the-2025-crypto-crime-report-release.pdf"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chohan U. W. (2017a). Cryptoanarchism and cryptocurrencies. SSRN. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2139\/ssrn.3079241","DOI":"10.2139\/ssrn.3079241"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chohan U. W. (2017b). The cryptocurrency tumblers: Risks legality and oversight [Discussion paper series: Notes on the 21st century]. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2139\/ssrn.3080361","DOI":"10.2139\/ssrn.3080361"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"de Balthasar T. Hernandez-Castro J. (2017). An analysis of Bitcoin laundry services. In Lipmaa H. Mitrokotsa A. Matulevi\u010dius R. (Eds.) Secure IT systems: 22nd Nordic Conference NordSec 2017 Tartu Estonia November 8\u201310 2017 Proceedings (pp. 297\u2013312). Springer. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/978-3-319-70290-2_18","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-70290-2_18"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_15_1","unstructured":"Financial Action Task Force. (2024a). Germany. https:\/\/www.fatf-gafi.org\/en\/countries\/detail\/Germany.html"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_16_1","unstructured":"Financial Action Task Force. (2024b). Netherlands. https:\/\/www.fatf-gafi.org\/en\/countries\/detail\/netherlands.html"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_17_1","unstructured":"Financial Action Task Force. (2025). Targeted update on implementation of the FATF standards on virtual assets and virtual asset service providers. https:\/\/www.fatf-gafi.org\/content\/fatf-gafi\/en\/publications\/Fatfrecommendations\/targeted-update-virtual-assets-vasps-2025.html"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_18_1","unstructured":"Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. (2020 October 19). First Bitcoin \u201cmixer\u201d penalized by FinCEN for violating anti-money laundering laws. https:\/\/www.fincen.gov\/news\/news-releases\/first-bitcoin-mixer-penalized-fincen-violating-anti-money-laundering-laws"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_19_1","unstructured":"Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. (2024). Use of convertible virtual currency for suspected online child sexual exploitation and human trafficking: Threat pattern & trend information January 2020 to December 2021. https:\/\/www.fincen.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/shared\/FTA_Human_Trafficking_FINAL508.pdf"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_20_1","unstructured":"Finger J. Ramachandran S. (2023 December 21). Don\u2019t get caught up in the mix: OFAC sanctions another crypto mixer for potential violations of sanctions regulations and FinCEN proposes new rule. Blockchain and the Law. https:\/\/www.blockchainandthelaw.com\/2023\/12\/dont-get-caught-up-in-the-mix-ofac-sanctions-another-crypto-mixer-for-potential-violations-of-sanctions-regulations-and-fincen-proposes-new-rule\/"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_21_1","unstructured":"Gable D. (2021). Cryptocurrency and risks to banks AML and sanctions compliance: A case study. Middlebury Institute of International Studies. https:\/\/www.middlebury.edu\/institute\/sites\/default\/files\/2021-04\/MIIS_ITED-working-paper-series_cryptocurrency-risks-to-banks-AML-sanctions-compliance_042021.pdf"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_22_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hamilton R. Leuprecht C. (2024). The crime-crypto nexus: Nuancing risk across crypto-crime transactions. In Goldbarsht D. de Koker L. (Eds.) Financial crime and the law: Identifying and mitigating risks (pp. 15\u201342). Springer. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/978-3-031-59543-1_2","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-031-59543-1_2"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_23_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Holt T. J. Lee J. R. Griffith E. (2023). An assessment of cryptomixing services in online illicit markets. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 39(2) 222\u2013238. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/10439862231158004","DOI":"10.1177\/10439862231158004"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_24_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hou G. (2022). Cryptocurrency money laundering and exit scams: Cases regulatory responses and issues. In Corbet S. (Ed.) Understanding cryptocurrency fraud: The challenges and headwinds to regulate digital currencies (pp. 83\u201396). De Gruyter. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1515\/9783110718485-007","DOI":"10.1515\/9783110718485-007"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_25_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jenkins C. Hamilton R. Leuprecht C. (2023). Canadian cryptocurrency conundrums: A socio-technical systems analysis of crypto laundering in Canada. In Leuprecht C. Ferrill J. (Eds.) Dirty money: Financial crime in Canada (pp. 325\u2013348). McGill-Queen\u2019s University Press. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1515\/9780228019886-014","DOI":"10.1515\/9780228019886-014"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_26_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Leuprecht C. Jenkins C. Hamilton R. (2023). Virtual money laundering: Policy implications of the proliferation in the illicit use of cryptocurrency. Journal of Financial Crime 30(4) 1036\u20131054. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/jfc-07-2022-0161","DOI":"10.1108\/JFC-07-2022-0161"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_27_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Leuprecht C. Walther O. Skillicorn D. B. Ryde-Collins H. (2015). Hezbollah\u2019s global tentacles: A relational approach to convergence with transnational organized crime. Terrorism and Political Violence 29(5) 902\u2013921. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/09546553.2015.1089863","DOI":"10.1080\/09546553.2015.1089863"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_28_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Levi M. Reuter P. (2006). Money laundering. Crime and Justice 34(1) 289\u2013375. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1086\/501508","DOI":"10.1086\/501508"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_29_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Liu M. Chen H. Yan J. (2021). Detecting roles of money laundering in bitcoin mixing transactions: A goal modeling and mining framework. Frontiers in Physics 9 Article 665399. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fphy.2021.665399","DOI":"10.3389\/fphy.2021.665399"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_30_1","unstructured":"Mariani J. Homoliak I. (2025). SoK: A survey of mixing techniques and mixers for cryptocurrencies. arXiv. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.48550\/arXiv.2504.20296"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_31_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Moneva A. Leukfeldt E. R. Klijnsoon W. (2023). Alerting consciences to reduce cybercrime: A quasi-experimental design using warning banners. Journal of Experimental Criminology 19 835\u2013862. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s11292-022-09504-2","DOI":"10.1007\/s11292-022-09504-2"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_32_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"M\u00f6ser M. B\u00f6hme R. Breuker D. (2013). An inquiry into money laundering tools in the Bitcoin ecosystem. In 2013 APWG eCrime Researchers Summit (pp. 1\u201314). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1109\/ecrs.2013.6805780.","DOI":"10.1109\/eCRS.2013.6805780"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_33_1","unstructured":"Office of Foreign Assets Control. (2022 May 6). U.S. Treasury issues first-ever sanctions on a virtual currency mixer targets DPRK cyber threats. U.S. Department of the Treasury. https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/news\/press-releases\/jy0768"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_34_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ozga M. Leuprecht C. (2026). Non-fungible tokens (NFTs): Art or asset? Criminogenic accelerants of financial crime and money laundering in digital markets. Crime and Delinquency 72(11) 3291\u20133317. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/00111287261441237","DOI":"10.1177\/00111287261441237"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_35_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pakki J. Shoshitaishvili Y. Wang R. Bao T. Doup\u00e9 A. (2021). Everything you ever wanted to know about Bitcoin mixers (but were afraid to ask). In Borisov N. Diaz C. (Eds.) Financial cryptography and data security: 25th International Conference FC 2021 Virtual Event March 1\u20135 2021 Revised Selected Papers Part 1 (pp. 117\u2013146). Springer. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/978-3-662-64322-8_6","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-662-64322-8_6"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_36_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rodwald P. (2025). Analysis of selected mixers in the Bitcoin network. International Journal of Electronics and Telecommunications 71(2) 379\u2013385. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.24425\/ijet.2025.153583","DOI":"10.24425\/ijet.2025.153583"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_37_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"See K. (2023). The Satoshi laundromat: A review on the money laundering open door of Bitcoin mixers. Journal of Financial Crime 31(2) 416\u2013426. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/jfc-11-2022-0269","DOI":"10.1108\/JFC-11-2022-0269"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_38_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Shojaeinasab A. Motamed A. P. Bahrak B. (2023). Mixing detection on Bitcoin transactions using statistical patterns. IET Blockchain 3(3) 136\u2013148. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1049\/blc2.12036","DOI":"10.1049\/blc2.12036"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_39_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Song J. Chen Y. Li Y. Sun Q. (2022). Cryptocurrencies\u2019 past present and future. In Proceedings of the 2022 2nd International Conference on Economic Development and Business Culture (ICEDBC 2022) (pp. 1402\u20131413). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2991\/978-94-6463-036-7_208","DOI":"10.2991\/978-94-6463-036-7_208"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_40_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tan E. Mahula S. Crompvoets J. (2022). Blockchain governance in the public sector: A conceptual framework for public management. Government Information Quarterly 39(1) Article 101625. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.giq.2021.101625","DOI":"10.1016\/j.giq.2021.101625"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_41_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tippe P. Deckers C. (2025). Unmixing the mix: Patterns and challenges in Bitcoin mixer investigations. Forensic Science International: Digital Investigation 52 Article 301876. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.fsidi.2025.301876","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fsidi.2025.301876"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_42_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tiwari M. Ferrill J. Gepp A. Kumar K. (2023). Factors influencing the choice of technique to launder funds: The APPT framework. Journal of Economic Criminology 1 Article 100006. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jeconc.2023.100006","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jeconc.2023.100006"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_43_1","unstructured":"U.S. Department of Justice. (2020). Report of the Attorney General\u2019s Cyber Digital Task Force: Cryptocurrency enforcement framework. https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/archives\/ag\/page\/file\/1326061\/dl"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_44_1","unstructured":"U.S. Department of Justice. (2024 November 12). Operator of \u201cBitcoin Fog\u201d sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for running notorious darknet crypto currency mixer. U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office District of Columbia. https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-dc\/pr\/operator-bitcoin-fog-sentenced-more-12-years-prison-running-notorious-darknet"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_45_1","unstructured":"U.S. Department of the Treasury. (2025 March 21). Tornado Cash delisting. https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/news\/press-releases\/sb0057"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_46_1","unstructured":"U.S. Secret Service. (2025). Public advisory: Cryptocurrency mixers. https:\/\/www.secretservice.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/reports\/2025-06\/Public-Alert-Cryptocurrency-Mixing.pdf"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_47_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"van Wegberg R. Oerlemans J.-J. van Deventer O. (2018). Bitcoin money laundering: Mixed results? An explorative study on money laundering of cybercrime proceeds using Bitcoin. Journal of Financial Crime 25(2) 419\u2013435. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/jfc-11-2016-0067","DOI":"10.1108\/JFC-11-2016-0067"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_48_1","unstructured":"Viitaharju V. (2024 November 14). The most significant Finnish cryptocurrency figures. Northcrypto. https:\/\/www.northcrypto.com\/learn\/blog\/the-most-significant-finnish-cryptocurrency-figures"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_49_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wu J. Liu J. Chen W. Huang H. Zheng Z. Zhang Y. (2022). Detecting mixing services via mining Bitcoin transaction network with hybrid motifs. IEEE Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics: Systems 52(4) 2237\u20132249. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1109\/tsmc.2021.3049278","DOI":"10.1109\/TSMC.2021.3049278"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_50_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wu L. Hu Y. Zhou Y. Wang H. Luo X. Wang Z. Zhang F. Ren K. (2021). Towards understanding and demystifying Bitcoin mixing services. In Proceedings of the Web Conference 2021 (WWW\u201921) (pp. 33\u201344). Association for Computing Machinery. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1145\/3442381.3449880","DOI":"10.1145\/3442381.3449880"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_51_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zola F. Medina J. A. Venturi A. Orduna R. (2025). Topological analysis of mixer activities in the Bitcoin network. arXiv. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.48550\/arXiv.2504.11924","DOI":"10.1109\/ICBC64466.2025.11185066"}],"container-title":["Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/10439862261487891","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1177\/10439862261487891","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/10439862261487891","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,12]],"date-time":"2026-10-12T06:19:43Z","timestamp":1791785983000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/10439862261487891"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]]},"references-count":50,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,11]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1177\/10439862261487891"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/10439862261487891","relation":{},"ISSN":["1043-9862","1552-5406"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1043-9862","type":"print"},{"value":"1552-5406","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]]}}}