OFAC Blockchain FAQs
Answers to common questions about OFAC sanctions and blockchain, covering designated addresses and on-chain screening.
TL;DR
TL;DR: OFAC lists wallet and contract addresses on the SDN List, and blockchain payments to those addresses are violations. Screen the address before any on-chain send.
How OFAC touches the chain
Blockchain is a public ledger of addresses, and OFAC designates specific addresses as blocked property. SanctionsAI indexes 947 OFAC-listed crypto wallets across Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Tron, alongside 19,218 SDN names. Because the ledger is pseudonymous, the check must be against the address itself, not a legal name.
Common questions
- Which chains are covered? The wallet data spans Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Tron, among 16 jurisdictions.
- How current is the data? It syncs hourly, so newly designated addresses surface quickly.
- How is screening added? One HTTP call in under 100 ms, returning ALLOW or BLOCK before a payment broadcasts.