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Cryptocurrency Flows to Sanctioned Entities
The rapid growth in crypto transactions used to bypass traditional financial sanctions between 2024 and 2025.
Primary Sources
How the US-Israeli war is collapsing the sanctions regime on Iran ...
For years, sociologists and political scientists have warned that sanctions do not work. They do not topple targeted governments; instead, they hurt their citizens. And yet, the use of sanctions has only expanded, with the US leading the charge. As a result, there is now increasing evidence that this over-reliance on such punitive measures has led to their growing ineffectiveness. The US-Israel war on Iran has made that all the more obvious.The conflict carries the potential to push further the process of weakening the effect of US sanctions, which had already been ongoing, and reshape the preferences of both regional and global actors through different mechanisms, including de-dollarisation, alternative trading methods such as barter, and informal transfer networks like hawala.The US relies on the dominance of its currency in global trade to leverage the sanctions it imposes. Sanctioned states are unable to carry out sanctioned trade because buyers and sellers process payments in dollars.The spread of cryptocurrency as an alternative payment method across the world has provided a way to circumvent this problem. Over the past few years, Iran has come to heavily rely on cryptocurrency for financial transactions.A report by blockchain data platform Chainanalysis shows that cryptocurrency flows to sanctioned entities went up remarkably in 2025, with their value rising 694 percent to a record $154bn – up from $59bn in 2024. In the final quarter of the year, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) alone accounted for 50 percent of value received – a total of $3bn.Iran converts cryptocurrency holdings into renminbi, which is then used to buy Russian goods or conduct trade across Asian markets – embedding itself further into an alternative financial architecture that strengthens the renminbi.The war on Iran may now expand the pool of economic actors willing to use cryptocurrency to deal with the Iranian state and entities. When Tehran took control over the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through which approximately 20 percent of the world’s oil and LNG passes, it began demanding transit tolls from vessels navigating the strait.The fees, typically starting at $1 per barrel, were payable in Bitcoin or renminbi, and reports have shown that a number of vessels and companies paid. Unlike stablecoins such as USDT, Bitcoin is fully decentralised and cannot be frozen by any issuer.With approximately 175 million barrels currently loaded onto tankers in the Gulf, even ...
US economic chokehold on Iran reaches peak leverage as collapse risks ...
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! U.S. economic pressure on Iran has reached one of its most powerful points in decades, but inconsistent enforcement has prevented sanctions from achieving their full impact, according to a former Treasury sanctions expert.Miad Maleki, who played a central role in Treasury Department sanctions campaigns against Iran and its network of proxy groups, said in an on-camera interview the current moment reflects a rare convergence of economic, political and diplomatic leverage against Tehran."We’ve never had the level of leverage that we have today with Iran in the history of our conflict … since 1979," Maleki said. His assessment comes as President Donald Trump signaled escalating pressure Thursday, writing on Truth Social that the United States has "total control over the Strait of Hormuz" and that it is effectively "sealed up tight" until Iran agrees to a deal.IRAN PRESIDENT VOWS DEFIANCE AS PROTESTS BUILD AGAINST REGIME AMID US MILITARY BUILD UPMaleki argues the current moment marks a turning point because multiple pressure tools — sanctions, a U.S. naval blockade, and tighter enforcement — are being applied simultaneously for the first time in years. Unlike previous cycles, he said, the strategy is now directly targeting Iran’s oil exports and the networks that help move them, raising the risk of a rapid economic squeeze.He said Iran may run out of oil storage in as little as two to three weeks, forcing production cuts, while gasoline shortages could hit on a similar timeline due to heavy reliance on imports. Combined with an estimated $435 million in daily economic losses, the pressure could spill into the financial system, leaving the regime struggling to pay salaries and raising the risk of renewed unrest. An oil tanker is seen near the terminal at Kharg Island, Iran, as U.S. officials and analysts consider whether seizing the island could significantly impact Iran's oil exports. (Ali Mohammadi/Bloomberg)Maleki said the real leverage lies in sustained economic pressure and enforcement.At the core of that pressure is an Iranian economy he describes as "on the verge of collapse," driven by years of sanctions and compounded by recent disruptions.He pointed to triple-digit food inflation, a sharply devalued currency and a roughly 90% collapse in purchasing power, along with potential long-term oil revenue losses of up to $14 billion annually.Maleki, who is currently a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of D...
US treasury secretary says renewal of waiver on Iranian oil sanctions ...
Bessent's statements come as the world is on edge over the US-Israeli war in Iran, and global energy markets have been ensnarled by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
War, sanctions, and the unravelling of American certainty
The ongoing confrontation between the United States and Iran is one such moment—where the architecture of dominance is not collapsing dramatically, but eroding visibly.
