Chinese firms selling synthetic opioid chemicals accept payments in Bitcoin & Tether

Elliptic, a blockchain analytic company, has revealed that various China-based firms selling fentanyl precursors have received massive amounts of cash in crypto payments. Furthermore, suppliers mostly allowed Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) payments.

Chinese Labs Are Selling Fentanyl Ingredients for Millions in Crypto. Elliptic: some Chinese chemical suppliers accept cryptocurrency for fentanyl ingredients and the majority use "three specific exchanges" based outside of China. https://t.co/eWj51Pr8n1

— Jason Savitt (@jsavitt) May 24, 2023

Elliptic researchers interacted with more than 90 Chinese companies ready for the Fentanyl precursors business. Furthermore, 90% of these firms offered crypto payments, whereas 17 firms were willing to supply the product.

Wallets transact massive crypto quantities

Elliptic discovered wallets transacting massive quantities. The chemical providers received over $27 million in cryptocurrency. That’s enough to buy fentanyl precursors for pills with a $54 billion street value.

The analytic firm added that chemical suppliers received payments in vast transactions, adding that the transaction count to the wallets surged by 450% YoY.

Suppliers accept Bitcoin and Tether

Chemical providers largely accept payments in Bitcoin and Tether (according to the report). Elliptic analyzed some of the addresses that the suppliers shared. Bitcoin payments accounted for 66% of the overall transactions, whereas Tether transactions on Tron totaled 21%.

Moreover, USDT transfers on the Ethereum network totaled 13%. Other cryptos accounted for only 1%. The report added that some companies supplied other chemicals, most used to create synthetic opioids – amphetamine and methamphetamine.

Meanwhile, Elliptic has alerted crypto exchanges of the illegal business and revealed crypto wallets involved in the undertakings.

Crypto market today

Invezz.com data shows most digital coins on bearish cues today. The leading crypto, Bitcoin, lost around 2.31% over the past 24 hours, changing hands near $26,750 at press time. The asset has struggled to maintain uptrends over the past sessions, with the $28K hurdle rejecting surges.

Moreover, some analysts believe BTC will dip toward $25K before accumulating enough momentum for solid upticks. Participants should watch for economic developments that could shape the market’s trajectory.