Elliptic researchers analyzed some of the cryptocurrency addresses with which these organizations interacted.
Analysts estimate that about $27 million in crypto assets have been transferred to these addresses over the past five years, and the number of transactions with them has increased by 450% in the past year.
Research team leader Tom Robinson noted that more than 90 Chinese laboratories selling fentanyl precursors advertised their products on the darknet, with 90% accepting payments in BTC and USDT.
Robinson declined to identify the companies, but noted that Elliptic has passed the information on to law enforcement.
Elliptic said the drugs were shipped to Mexico, from where drug cartels could bring them into the U.S.
The analysts’ report also notes that the opioid precursors sold for tens of millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies would be enough to produce enough fentanyl to kill every person on Earth.
Most of the chemical suppliers identified had accounts on three cryptocurrency exchanges operating outside China, but those exchanges were not listed in the report.
Elliptic also sent these marketplaces a notice, providing a list of several hundred cryptocurrency addresses that received cryptoassets as payment for products.
Note that cryptocurrency trading and mining are banned in China.
Recall that a bill on combating the financing of terrorism was recently submitted to the U.S. Senate.
The bill would create a task force to analyze suspicious transactions, which would include the Drug Enforcement Administration.