FATF Blacklist: Why Iran, North Korea, and Myanmar Are Targeted for Crypto Bans
FATF Blacklist Comparison Tool
Compare Illicit Crypto Activities
See the scale of crypto-related illicit activities in FATF-listed countries. Data based on 2024 Chainalysis reports and official FATF documentation.
North Korea
Total Illicit Transactions
$7.9B+
Share of Global Illicit Crypto
40%+
Iran
Total Illicit Transactions
$6.3B+
Transaction Volume Increase
300% (2024)
Myanmar
Total Illicit Transactions
$1.6B+
Transaction Spike (2023)
220%
Key Insights
North Korea
Responsible for over 50% of illicit crypto transactions from FATF blacklisted nations. Largest single crypto heist ($1.5B from ByBit in 2025).
Iran
300% transaction surge in 2024. People use crypto to escape sanctions, but regime uses it for terrorism financing and sanction-busting.
Myanmar
220% spike after 2021 coup. Junta relies on third-party criminals to move money for weapons and surveillance tech.
When you hear about crypto bans, you might think of governments cracking down on everyday users. But the real story isn’t about people trading Bitcoin in their living rooms. It’s about state-backed cybercriminals stealing billions - and the global system trying to stop them. The FATF blacklist isn’t a warning label for shady exchanges. It’s a red alert for countries actively using cryptocurrency to bypass sanctions, fund terrorism, and finance weapons programs.
Who’s on the FATF blacklist - and why it matters
As of June 2025, only three countries sit on the Financial Action Task Force’s highest-risk list: Iran, North Korea, and Myanmar. These aren’t random picks. They’re nations with weak financial controls, active state involvement in illicit finance, and no meaningful cooperation with international watchdogs. The FATF doesn’t just list them. It tells every bank, exchange, and payment processor in the world: apply extra scrutiny or cut ties entirely. For Iran and North Korea, that means full countermeasures - essentially a financial quarantine. Myanmar faces strict due diligence rules, but not yet the same level of isolation. This isn’t about punishing citizens. It’s about cutting off the financial lifelines of regimes that rely on crypto to survive. And right now, cryptocurrency is their weapon of choice.North Korea: The world’s most dangerous crypto hacker
North Korea doesn’t just use crypto. It runs it like a war economy. In February 2025, hackers linked to the North Korean government stole $1.5 billion from ByBit - the largest single crypto heist ever recorded. That’s not an anomaly. It’s their business model. Chainalysis data shows sanctioned countries pulled in $15.8 billion in cryptocurrency in 2024. Nearly 40% of all illicit crypto transactions globally came from just these three FATF blacklisted nations. And North Korea alone is responsible for over half of that. Their operations are professional. They recruit coders, run phishing campaigns targeting crypto firms, and use stolen funds to buy weapons, pay soldiers, and fund nuclear programs. The U.S. Treasury has documented over 13 crypto-related sanctions in 2024 - the second-highest number in seven years. Most of those targeted North Korean addresses. What makes this worse? North Korea doesn’t need to hide its tracks. They know most exchanges still lack proper monitoring. And many countries still don’t enforce FATF rules - leaving backdoors wide open.Iran: Crypto as a survival tool - and a sanction-busting scheme
Iran’s situation is more complex. Many Iranians use crypto not to break laws, but to survive. Years of U.S. and international sanctions have crippled their banking system. Inflation hit 50% in 2024. People can’t access their savings. Foreign currency is nearly impossible to get. So they turn to Bitcoin and Ethereum - not because they believe in decentralization, but because it works when banks don’t. Iranian exchanges saw a 300% surge in transaction volume in 2024. Outflows jumped even higher. People are moving money out of the country, using crypto as a digital escape hatch. A seed phrase is all you need to take your life savings across borders - no bank approval, no paperwork. But here’s the dark side: the Iranian government and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are deeply involved. They operate state-backed crypto mining farms, launder funds through mixers, and use decentralized platforms to evade detection. The U.S. has sanctioned over 20 Iranian crypto addresses since 2023. FinCEN has flagged multiple Iranian-linked mixing services as high-risk. So while ordinary Iranians use crypto for survival, the regime uses it to fund terrorism and evade sanctions. And that’s why the FATF keeps Iran on the list.
Myanmar: A junta’s digital money trail
Myanmar’s case is the newest and least understood. After the 2021 military coup, the junta lost access to global banking. They turned to crypto - fast. Crypto transactions into Myanmar spiked by 220% in 2023 and stayed high through 2024. Much of it flows through unregulated peer-to-peer platforms and offshore exchanges. The junta uses these funds to buy weapons, pay militias, and finance surveillance tech. Unlike North Korea, Myanmar doesn’t have the same level of technical expertise. But they don’t need it. They rely on third-party criminals - ransomware gangs, darknet vendors, and unlicensed exchanges - to move money. The FATF doesn’t yet call for full countermeasures against Myanmar, but it demands enhanced due diligence from all financial institutions dealing with the country. The problem? Most banks and crypto firms outside Asia still don’t screen for Myanmar-linked activity. That gap is exactly what the junta is counting on.Why global compliance is failing
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: most countries aren’t doing their part. As of April 2024, 75% of FATF member countries were either noncompliant or only partially compliant with global standards for virtual asset regulation. That means most exchanges, wallet providers, and payment processors aren’t checking if users are from sanctioned countries. They’re not tracking suspicious transfers. They’re not reporting high-risk activity. This isn’t just negligence. It’s systemic failure. Many countries lack the resources. Others lack the will. Some even benefit from the flow of dirty money. Mixers - services that obscure the origin of crypto funds - are the biggest loophole. Criminals use them to turn stolen coins into untraceable cash. FinCEN has tried to shut down major mixers like Huione Group, but new ones pop up daily. Privacy coins like Monero and Zcash make tracking even harder. The U.S., Netherlands, and other leading nations are stepping up. They’re training foreign financial units through programs like CIFT (Counter Illicit Finance Teams). They’re pressuring exchanges to block sanctioned addresses. But progress is slow.
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