What is a sanctioned crypto wallet?

A sanctioned crypto wallet is a blockchain address — typically an Ethereum, Bitcoin, or Tron address — that the US Treasury's OFAC has added to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, prohibiting US persons from sending or receiving funds with it.

How wallets end up on the SDN list

OFAC began adding crypto wallet addresses to the SDN list in 2018. Wallets are typically designated because they are controlled by sanctioned individuals, entities, or groups — such as ransomware operators, darknet markets, money launderers, or sanctioned governments. Tornado Cash wallets were designated in 2022 because the mixer protocol itself was designated.

How to check a wallet

Use SanctionsAI's free wallet checker — paste any wallet address and get an instant result: /tools/wallet-checker. The API checks against 947 SDN-listed addresses and returns results in under 100ms.