Countries like Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela are using cryptocurrencies to bypass U.S. sanctions. Iran legalizes crypto for imports, North Korea funds its regime through crypto hacks, Russia uses Bitcoin and stablecoins for oil trade, and Venezuela's "Petro" aims to evade sanctions.
- https://www.nytimes.com[](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/23/business/russia-sanctions-cryptocurrency.html)
- https://www.gao.gov[](https://www.gao.gov/blog/effectiveness-economic-sanctions-risk-digital-asset-growth)
- https://www.chainalysis.com[](https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/russias-cryptocurrency-legislated-sanctions-evasion/)
- https://www.mitrade.com[](https://www.mitrade.com/insights/news/live-news/article-3-697807-20250314)
- https://www.coindesk.com[](https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/03/14/russia-turns-to-crypto-to-bypass-western-sanctions-in-oil-trade-reuters)
- https://www.elliptic.co[](https://www.elliptic.co/blog/cryptocurrency-exploitation-nation-states)