Countries under United States sanctions heavily use crypto as a financial workaround for the restrictions that limit their access to the global banking system, according to a report from Chainalysis published on Feb. 19. The report highlighted that sanctioned countries received over $15.8 billion in cryptocurrency in 2024, accounting for approximately 39% of all illicit crypto transactions last year. Ongoing geopolitical tensions, including the Russia-Ukraine war and the crisis in the Middle East, led to intense financial sanctions from the U.S. on countries such as Iran and Russia. To continue reading this as well as other DeFi and Web3 news, visit us at thedefiant.io