Because of its decentralization, anonymity, and cross-border circulation characteristics, cryptocurrency may theoretically be used to circumvent international financial sanctions. However, this kind of behavior usually violates international law or the regulatory policies of a particular country and may face severe legal consequences. The following are some cryptocurrencies and their technical characteristics that are considered to have the potential to evade sanctions, but it should be noted that the risk of such behavior is extremely high.： --- ### **1. Privacy Coins (Privacy Coins)** This kind of cryptocurrency hides transaction details (sender, receiver, amount) through technical means, making it difficult to track： -**Monero (Monero, XMR)** -Use ring signature, Ring confidential transaction (RingCT) and invisible address technology to ensure complete anonymity of transactions. - It has been delisted by multiple exchanges (such as Binance and OKX) and its liquidity is limited, but it can still be traded on a centralized exchange (DEX). - **Zcash（ZEC）** -Provide optional privacy features (zk-SNARKs technology), but most transactions are transparent by default. -The U.S. Department of the Treasury has sanctioned Zcash-related currency mixing services. -**Dash (Dash)** -obfuscate the transaction path through the PrivateSend function, but the privacy is weaker than Monero. --- ### **2. Decentralized stablecoin** Stablecoins are pegged to fiat currencies (such as the US dollar), with small price fluctuations, and may be used to transfer value： -**Tether (USDT), USDC** -Centralized issuance, relying on bank reserves, but some jurisdictions allow anonymous transactions. -The issuer may cooperate with the supervision to freeze the address (for example, Tether has frozen the address related to the sanctions). -**Decentralized stablecoin (such as DAI)** -Crypto assets are generated through over-collateralization, without the need for a centralized institution, but rely on the privacy of the underlying chain (such as the transparency of Ethereum transactions). --- ### **3. Mixer and Privacy agreement** Enhance anonymity by obfuscating transaction paths (non-independent cryptocurrencies, but often used in combination with Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.)： - **Tornado Cash** -The mixed-currency agreement on Ethereum has been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department and the developers have been sued. -Demonstrate the crackdown on privacy tools by regulators. -**CoinJoin (Bitcoin mixing technology)** -Blur the source of funds by merging multiple transactions, but rely on third-party tools. --- ### **4. Censorship-resistant blockchain network** -**Bitcoin (BTC)** -Although transactions are transparent, in some regions, anonymity can be enhanced through non-KYC exchanges, P2P transactions, or private wallets (such as Wasabi). -High liquidity makes it easy to convert into fiat currency or other assets. -**Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH)** -Low transaction fees and fast speed, but limited privacy. --- ### **5. Decentralized exchange (DEX)** -**Uniswap, Thor Chain** -Allows users to bypass the KYC restrictions of centralized exchanges and directly exchange assets. -Cooperation with privacy coins or cross-chain bridges (such as RenBridge) may avoid supervision. --- ###**Risks and challenges** -**Regulatory crackdown**: Recent cases have shown that privacy tools (such as Tornado Cash) and exchanges (such as Bitzlato) have been sanctioned, and developers may be criminally liable. -**On-chain analysis**: Companies such as Chainalysis and Elliptic assist the government in tracking blockchain transactions, and privacy coins may also have technical loopholes. -**Liquidity restrictions**: Privacy coins are illiquid on mainstream exchanges, making it difficult to transfer funds on a large scale. -**Technical threshold**: Ordinary users may expose their identities due to operational errors (such as IP leakage, failure to use Tor/VPN). --- ###**Real-world case** -**North Korea Lazarus hacker organization**: Laundered money through coin mixers, privacy coins, and cross-chain bridges, but some funds are still tracked and frozen. -**Russia and Iran**: Tried to use cryptocurrency to bypass SWIFT sanctions, but were limited by regulatory pressure and liquidity issues. -**Venezuela**: The government promoted Petro to circumvent sanctions, but failed due to lack of international trust. --- ###**Summary** Although there is a technical possibility of circumventing sanctions, cryptocurrency is not an “extrajudicial place.” Regulators are strengthening controls through legislation (such as FATF travel rules), on-chain monitoring, and international cooperation. Any attempt to use cryptocurrency to evade sanctions will face extremely high legal and technical risks.