- Sanctioned entities turned to crypto en masse to reach global markets.
- Year-over-year, the subset of illicit finance grew by more than 690%.
- Crypto’s growing adoption is a challenge for authorities.
Crypto adoption among sanctioned nation-states is booming.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Russia, and North Korea all helped push illicit onchain finance to stratospheric heights, reported the crypto analytics firm Chainalysis.
The firm added that industry-scale scam networks in Southeast Asia also contributed to a record $154 billion in total illicit transaction volume in 2025.
The depth of integration alongside wider adoption among legitimate users is also making enforcement difficult for authorities.
“This convergence can…
