Counterfeit Peptides, Cartels, and Crypto

When we think of pirates, we think of swashbucklin’ language and the goofy antics of movie pirates like Jack Sparrow. But behind the counterculture veneer, pirates be (and still be) propagators of illicit funds, violence, and danger to life and limb. For many pirates in the current day, the allure of piracy be born out of yon combination betwixt the opportunity of quick gains, poor government oversight, and a lack of legal (or accessible) alternatives. This same combination of factors has led to a burgeoning “grey market” of unsanctioned medications sailing into people’s homes, and can lead to similar danger to life and limb.

One of the most abundant grey markets for medicines today concerns peptides. As of mid 2026, peptides are being marketed heavily on social media, especially after the runaway success of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medications. Dr. Mitchell Rothstein of the MedEvidence Podcast summarizes the false comparison people make between GLP-1 medications and other peptides. ^[1]

“When GLP1s first came out, they weren't marketed as cures for obesity, diabetes, sleep apnea, cardiovascular disease, [or] kidney disease. They got one indication [and] were studied to the nth degree. We knew all about drug levels, toxicities, the pharmacokinetics, and then during those investigations, they earned… other indications. And we see with these peptides, they're actually being promoted for other indications without any evidence.”

Peptides are short chains of amino acids, the same molecules that make up proteins.^[2] Scientists generally consider peptides to be between 5 and 50 amino acids long, making them larger than “small molecule” medications but smaller than full proteins.^[2,3] This small size gives a few key benefits over protein medications: they can travel deeper into tissues, provoke less immune response, and are cheaper to produce.^[2,3] This last point, along with the hype around GLP-1s, is undoubtedly why the grey market has had such growth.

There are around 80 legal peptide drugs on the market worldwide.^[2] Peptide research started in the early 20th century with insulin.^[2] Further research focused on other natural human peptides like oxytocin and vasopressin, all the way to GLP-1s.^[2] Some peptides have wide-ranging effects, though that doesn’t make them without risks. Insulin, for example, has been amazing for people with diabetes, but if used in extremely high doses, it can lead to seizures, coma, or death. This isn’t a problem for those who use legal peptides, but the grey market can be a very different story.

The “grey market” for peptides is the import of unapproved and/or untested peptides which are sold as “not for human consumption” or as a “research chemical.” These are not medications, do not necessarily conform to current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP), and are not subjected to regulatory oversight.^[4] In spite of this, these are heavily marketed on social media and the internet as “miracle medications” that purportedly solve everything from fat loss to wound repair.^[4] Some of the peptides being marketed have indeed undergone animal studies, but data in humans is practically nonexistent.^[4] Risks of these peptides range from problems with the nervous system to water retention, metabolic changes, cancer risk, and death - and this is if the drugs are manufactured and packaged properly!^[4]

The major problem with the grey market is that it operates outside of institutional oversight. Independent research has found variations in the amount and concentration of drugs, toxins, and impurities present in grey market peptides.^[5] They found that some samples contained none of the advertised peptide, and those that did varied between 5% - 75% pure peptide.^[5] As a point of comparison, if this were insulin, the difference would be between a therapeutic dose for a diabetic and a potentially fatal dose. Toxins found in grey market peptides include lead, arsenic, zinc, silver, and platinum.^[5] Impurities included solvents, cheaper forms of similar peptides, and even completely different drugs!^[5] It’s comparable to cartel members adding fentanyl to heroin.

Actually, the comparison to cartels is more appropriate than that. A lot of people buy grey market peptides with cryptocurrency, and a deep dive following the crypto trail found disturbing links to drug cartels.^[6] The crypto investigation found that the manufacturers of grey market peptides have been funded by cartels, are being used for cartel money laundering, and continue to actively associate with Chinese and Russian cartels.^[6] Even more disturbing, some of the same Chinese manufacturers who manufacture peptides on the grey market used to produce fentanyl and meth precursors for the cartels and only pivoted to peptides in the face of growing legal crackdowns and the burgeoning peptide market.^[6]

So are peptides any good? Yes, several, but heed this! Ye should only get peptides that be prescribed by a doctor, have undergone proper clinical trials on humans, and which have been manufactured under current Good Manufacturing Practice regulations.^[7] These ensure everything from manufacturing, processing, packaging, expiration, purity, and inspections be done in safe, dependable ways.^[7] So next time ye be thinking of sailing the salty seas of unapproved peptides, just do what I do: sit back and rewatch Pirates of the Caribbean for the 14th time.

Creative Director Benton Lowey-Ball, MWC, BS, BFA

References:

[1] Koren M, Rothstein M. Why were peptides banned, why are they back, and are they any good? [podcast]. MedEvidence; 2026 Sep 2 [cited 2026 Sep 9]. Available from: https://medevidence.com/why-were-peptides-banned-why-are-they-back

[2] Wang L, Wang N, Zhang W, Cheng X, Yan Z, Shao G, Wang X, Wang R, Fu C. Therapeutic peptides: current applications and future directions. Signal transduction and targeted therapy. 2022 Feb 14;7(1):48. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-022-00904-4

[3] D’Hondt M, Bracke N, Taevernier L, Gevaert B, Verbeke F, Wynendaele E, De Spiegeleer B. Related impurities in peptide medicines. Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis. 2014 Dec 1;101:2-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpba.2014.06.012

[4] Mendias CL, Awan TM. Safety and Efficacy of Approved and Unapproved Peptide Therapies for Musculoskeletal Injuries and Athletic Performance: CL Mendias, TM Awan. Sports Medicine. 2026 Apr 12:1-5. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-026-02437-0

[5] Janvier S, Cheyns K, Canfyn M, Goscinny S, De Spiegeleer B, Vanhee C, Deconinck E. Impurity profiling of the most frequently encountered falsified polypeptide drugs on the Belgian market. Talanta. 2018 Oct 1;188:795-807. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2018.06.023

[6] Chainalysis Team. The $100 million crypto “Looksmaxxing” boom: How Chinese cartel suppliers pivoted to the gray-market peptide ecosystem. https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/gray-market-peptide-crypto-boom/

[7] Food and Drug Administration, HHS. Current good manufacturing practice in manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding of drugs; revision of certain labeling controls. Final rule. Federal register. 2012 Mar 20;77(54):16158-63. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-210