U.S. Treasury Sanctions North Korean Crypto Network, Blacklists 54 Crypto Wallets

• The U.S. Treasury’s sanctions and wallet blacklisting increase regulatory pressure on illicit crypto flows, create short-term volatility for Bitcoin.
• By targeting North Korea’s crypto networks and freezing 54 wallets, the U.S. Treasury reinforcing safeguards for the broader crypto ecosystem, including BTC.

The U.S. Treasury’s OFAC sanctioned eight people and two entities tied to North Korea as stealing and laundering crypto to funding weapons programs. The actions also updated a bank’s listing to include 54 cryptocurrency wallet addresses used to move stolen funds. This aims to make it harder for those wallets to interact with regulated services.

In line with a recent Crypto News Flash (CNF) report, the U.S. Treasury previously lifted Tornado Cash sanctions but continues to warn about cybercrime and crypto misuse risks. Hence, the Treasury sanctioned a North Korean crypto network and blacklisted 54 wallet addresses to block funding in Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.

Officials say that North Korean hackers and overseas IT workers have stolen over $3 billion in crypto, using complex laundering schemes across countries such as China and Russia. As stated:

According to the U.S. Treasury, these wallets are linking to entities like Korea Mangyongdae Computer Technology Company and Ryujong Credit Bank, which helped move and hide illicit funds. By freezing these wallets, Washington aiming to choke off a key financial lifeline, make crypto laundering riskier, and disrupt the regime’s ability to use digital assets to evade global sanctions.

In addition, many of North Korea’s crypto thefts begin with tokens like Ethereum (ETH) or stablecoins, but large portions are swapped into Bitcoin, likely due to its greater liquidity and global recognition.

U.S. Treasury Sanctions Impact on Crypto Market Security and Bitcoin (BTC)

Analysts estimate that the hack group Lazarus Group, believed to be backed by North Korea, holds around 13,518 BTC — to put them ahead of countries like Bhutan and El Salvador in Bitcoin holdings. This could have implications for Bitcoin’s price (BTC), as discussed below.

The recent U.S. Treasury sanctions on North Korea’s crypto network and the blacklisting of 54 wallets could create short-term volatility for Bitcoin. Many of the flagged wallets are tied to BTC transactions, which may spark temporary fear among traders and a brief dip as investors move funds to safer or more compliant assets.

In the short term, BTC may be facing mild pressure, testing support near $105,000–$110,000. As of now, it trades at about $101,629.39, down 2.82% in the past day and 10.07% in the past week.

Looking at the broader picture, long-term recovery is likely, with BTC potentially reaching $125,000–$130,000 as institutional demand grows and global trust for U.S. Treasury  in the asset strengthens. See BTC price chart below.