Sanctioned Nations Used Crypto to Move $100 Billion, WSJ Reports

Highlights:

• Sanctioned countries used cryptocurrency to move about $100 billion outside traditional banking channels last year.
• Russia, Iran, and North Korea built custom tokens and exchanges to support restricted payments.
• Authorities are targeting illicit crypto platforms, but private networks make enforcement harder for investigators.

Countries facing strict international sanctions are turning to digital assets to avoid financial restrictions. According to a July 4 report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), blacklisted nations handled roughly $100 billion in cryptocurrency last year. This massive shift allows them to bypass traditional banking systems, which normally enforce global sanctions and freeze illicit funds.

Iran, Russia, and North Korea have dramatically increased their use of virtual currencies to dodge U.S. pressure. Instead of relying on standard banks, these countries are using digital money to fund military operations and secure essential supplies. Western officials and crypto analytics firms note that these nations are becoming highly sophisticated in their methods, moving away from simple transfers to complex financial networks.

Custom Crypto Tools Support Sanctions Evasion

Rather than just using existing platforms, sanctioned countries are creating their own financial tools. They are launching custom digital tokens and operating independent crypto exchanges to process transactions safely away from Western oversight. For example, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis reported that Russia launched a ruble-backed token called A7A5 to facilitate over $93.3 billion in sanctions evasion last year.

🇬🇧 The U.K. just sanctioned 18 crypto exchanges, banks, and individuals tied to the A7 network, a sanctions evasion operation helping Russia bypass trade blockades and fund its war in Ukraine.

A7's ruble-backed stablecoin A7A5 logged $93B in trading volume in year one, more than… pic.twitter.com/9GY4hLXJU3

— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) May 27, 2026

These custom tools help them buy critical goods without detection. Iran and Russia have used virtual cash to purchase drones and weapon parts. Russia also utilized digital assets to pay the salaries of seafarers who smuggle their sanctioned crude oil across the globe. Meanwhile, North Korea has taken a more aggressive approach. The country has mastered the art of stealing cryptocurrency through cybercrime and hacks, using the stolen funds to buy fuel and military equipment.

Crypto Gives Sanctioned Countries New Payment Channels

The sheer volume of these transactions shows a massive shift in global finance. According to Chainalysis’s Crypto Crime Report, state-driven sanctions evasion surged by 694% last year. In total, sanctioned entities moved an estimated $104 billion in digital assets throughout the year.

In the introductory chapter to our 2026 Crypto Crime Report, we reveal that illicit cryptocurrency transactions received at least $154 billion in 2025 (a 162% YoY increase). Nation-state activity and sanctions evasion drove the surge, marking a new phase in crypto crime. Read… pic.twitter.com/gedfxuDgUs

— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) January 8, 2026

Iran plays a major role in this surge. Reports indicate that Iranian wallets received a record $7.8 billion last year. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps alone processed over $3 billion in crypto to fund proxy groups, move sanctioned oil, and purchase arms.

Governments are fighting back by targeting the platforms that enable these transactions. Last June, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Nobitex, Iran’s largest digital asset exchange, for helping the regime move wealth out of the country.

Nevertheless, it is quite difficult to trace the trail of the money. Blockchain analytics companies cooperate very actively with Western governments in tracing the digital traces left by the criminals in public blockchains. But with the development of their own private blockchain exchanges and tokens, rogue nations pose an ever-increasing problem for the authorities.