In brief
- Illicit cryptocurrency addresses received at least $154 billion in 2025.
- Sanctioned entities accounted for about $104 billion of those flows.
- Activity tied to Iran, Russia, and North Korea drove much of the volume.
Iran’s use of cryptocurrency to move money under sanctions is expanding, with more than $3 billion tied to networks linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 2025, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.
The figure comes from the company’s 2026 Crypto Crime Report, which estimates that illicit cryptocurrency addresses received at least $154 billion in digital assets last year. That’s a 162% year-over-year increase, the firm said.
“Iran continued integrating crypto into its strategic…
