A global investigation has revealed that at least $28 billion linked to criminal activity has flowed through major cryptocurrency exchanges over the past two years. Despite efforts by the industry to present itself as secure and compliant, hackers, scammers, and organized crime groups have used exchanges like Binance and OKX to launder money from cyberattacks, scams, and illicit operations. The investigation found that even after high-profile settlements and regulatory scrutiny, these platforms continued to receive large sums from entities flagged for criminal activity, including North Korean hackers and scam networks in Southeast Asia. Victims of crypto scams often find their stolen funds routed through these exchanges, with law enforcement struggling to keep pace with the scale and complexity of the crimes. Meanwhile, crypto-to-cash businesses operating with little oversight have become a new frontier for money laundering, allowing large sums to be converted into cash with minimal identity checks. The findings raise questions about the effectiveness of industry compliance measures and the challenges facing regulators and law enforcement in curbing illicit finance in the rapidly growing crypto sector.