Overview
- Sanctioned entities received about $104 billion in cryptocurrency in 2025, a roughly 694% year-over-year surge that pushed total illicit on-chain volume to $154 billion.
- Stablecoins accounted for roughly 84% of illicit activity, with Russia’s ruble-pegged A7A5 processing about $93.3 billion and linked venues Grinex and Meer later sanctioned by the U.S. and EU.
- Chainalysis identified an “A7A5 Instant Swapper” that converted tokens into dollar stablecoins with minimal KYC, moving more than $2.2 billion to bridge users into the broader crypto economy.
- Addresses tied to Iran’s IRGC moved more than $3 billion and made up over half of Iranian service inflows in Q4, while Iranian exchanges saw about $10.3 million in outflows after late‑February airstrikes.
- North Korea-linked hackers stole more than $2 billion, including $1.5 billion from Bybit, as U.S. enforcement shifted to blacklisting entire platforms such as Zedcex and Zedxion, with illicit crypto still under 1% of total activity.