Iran, North Korea, Russia and other sanctioned nations handled more than $100 billion in crypto just in 2025, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Saturday (July 4), citing industry estimates.

The report added that these countries have grown more savvy in navigating the market, establishing their own digital tokens and crypto exchanges to help process transactions, according to crypto companies and Western authorities.

“Crypto has changed the sanctions evasion game significantly,” said Kaitlin Martin, a senior intelligence analyst at analytics firm Chainalysis. 

That company estimates that crypto addresses linked to sanctioned countries…