October 26, 2026

How many hops until "dirty money" stops being your problem?

The AML report says: "link to a mixer". Sounds scary. But the real question is how close. A mixer sending money straight to this wallet is one thing. Three strangers' wallets in between is something else entirely.

🔗 WHAT A HOP IS

A hop is one transfer between wallets. Mixer → wallet A → wallet B → you: that's three hops for you. The more hops, the weaker the link, and the more often it's just the "noise" of a busy network.

📏 HOW TO READ THE DISTANCE

• Direct link (1 hop): the counterparty itself received money from a risky address or paid it. That's serious — exchanges react to exactly this.
• 2–3 hops: look at what share of the money went this way. A couple of percent is usually fine; a large share is a reason to be careful.
• 4 or more: on busy networks you can find a link to almost anything. On its own, it means little.

💵 THE SECOND NUMBER IS THE AMOUNT

A $5 link and a $50,000 link are different stories, even at the same distance. Look at the share of turnover and the amount, not just "yes or no".

✅ WHAT TO DO BEFORE THE DEAL

• Look beyond the overall score — check the path: direct or through hops.
• Direct link to sanctions, a mixer or theft — ask for another wallet.
• A distant small link — keep the report: if the exchange asks, you can show you checked.

In the AMLConsensus report every risky source now shows: a direct link or how many hops, the amount in dollars and the route by address.

Check an address for free: https://t.me/amlconsensus_bot?start=en What the checks include: https://amlconsensus.com/en/#check-kinds