People shopping online for low-cost semaglutide or "research peptides" may be sending money to the same Chinese chemical companies that advertise fentanyl ingredients, according to a new TRM Labs blockchain analysis published Oct. 6. The firm found that cryptocurrency payments to vendors listing both peptides and fentanyl precursors rose from $28.2 million in 2023 to $37.3 million in 2025, a 32% increase.
The United States was the source of about 57% of identifiable payments to those vendors, TRM said. The Wall Street Journal reported on the same vendor overlap that day, according to a KFF Health News morning briefing.
