Joerg Hiller
Jan 15, 2026 21:36
Chainalysis tracker reveals OFAC has sanctioned exchanges processing billions in crypto crime, from Garantex to Huione Group’s $4B laundering operation.
The U.S. Treasury’s sanctions machine has been working overtime on crypto. A comprehensive tracker from Chainalysis documents how OFAC designations have evolved from targeting individual Bitcoin addresses in 2018 to dismantling entire financial ecosystems processing tens of billions in illicit cryptocurrency.
The numbers are staggering. Russia’s A7A5 ruble-backed token alone has processed over $93.3 billion in volume, according to Chainalysis data from August 2025. Huione Group, designated under FinCEN’s Section 311 in October 2025, laundered more than $4 billion between August 2021 and January 2025—including $37 million from North Korean cyber heists.
2025: The Year of Infrastructure Targeting
OFAC’s strategy has shifted decisively toward attacking the plumbing of crypto crime rather than just the criminals. Bulletproof hosting providers like Zservers and Aeza Group caught sanctions for enabling ransomware operations. Garantex got re-designated alongside its successor Grinex, proving that rebranding won’t shake federal scrutiny.
The pig butchering crackdown intensified dramatically. The DOJ, FBI, and Secret Service launched the first Scam Center Strike Force in November 2025, targeting a Southeast Asian ecosystem that stole at least $10 billion from Americans in 2024 alone. OFAC followed by sanctioning Burma’s Democratic Karen Benevolent Army for running forced-labor scam compounds.
Chen Zhi, founder of Cambodia’s Prince Group, faces a sealed indictment after authorities seized $15 billion in Bitcoin linked to his transnational fraud operation. The UK’s OFSI coordinated with OFAC on dual sanctions—a pattern that’s become standard for major designations.
Iran and North Korea: Crypto’s Persistent Bad Actors
State-sponsored operations remain OFAC’s core focus. An Iranian shadow banking network moved over $600 million in inflows and executed more than $100 million in crypto purchases tied to sanctioned oil revenues, per September 2025 designations. The network maintained connections to Hezbollah-linked money launderers.
North Korea’s IT worker fraud schemes continue generating weapons program revenue. A Russia-linked facilitator network sanctioned in August 2025 helped launder over $600,000 in proceeds through mainstream exchanges, bridges, and mixers. Lazarus Group’s fingerprints appear across multiple years of designations, from the Ronin Bridge hack to Tornado Cash.
What Traders Need to Know
The compliance burden is real and growing. OFAC has designated hundreds of specific wallet addresses since 2018, and Tether has frozen wallets belonging to sanctioned individuals. Exchanges like Cryptex, which processed over $5.88 billion since 2018, and PM2BTC, handling more than $1 billion, have been named primary money laundering concerns.
For DeFi protocols, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Tornado Cash’s designation—upheld by federal courts in August 2023—established that smart contracts can be sanctioned entities. The mixer processed over $455 million in stolen Axie Infinity funds before its takedown.
The tracker reveals a clear pattern: OFAC follows the money with increasing sophistication. Chainalysis data now traces flows across bridges, DeFi protocols, and mixers that would have been opaque years ago. Crypto businesses without robust sanctions screening face significant fines and criminal penalties—a risk that grows with each new designation.
Image source: Shutterstock
Source: https://blockchain.news/news/ofac-crypto-sanctions-tracker-2025-illicit-flows
