OFAC sanctions screening for crypto addresses, explained
What the OFAC list is, why it contains crypto addresses, what a match or “no match” really tells you, and how to read sanctions results in a wallet report.
By Web3 Copilot team4 min read
OFAC sanctions screening for crypto means checking whether a wallet address appears on the list of sanctioned addresses published by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. An exact match is a strong signal to stop. "No match" means only that this address is not on the list today. It is not proof that the address is safe.
This article explains how the list works and how to read the results. It is general information, not legal advice. If you run a business that handles crypto, talk to a compliance professional about your obligations.
What OFAC is
OFAC is the part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury that administers economic sanctions. Its best-known list is the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, usually called the SDN list. It names people, companies and organisations that U.S. persons are generally not allowed to deal with.
Why the list contains wallet addresses
Since November 2018, OFAC has added digital currency addresses to some SDN entries. The first ones were Bitcoin addresses linked to two people involved in the SamSam ransomware attacks. Since then, entries have covered addresses on Bitcoin, Ethereum, TRON and other networks, linked to ransomware groups, darknet markets, scam networks and state-backed hackers.
Each address in an entry is tagged with the currency it was published for, for example "XBT" for Bitcoin or "ETH" for Ethereum.
The list changes
Entries are added and removed. A well-known example: OFAC sanctioned the Tornado Cash mixer and its smart contract addresses in August 2022, and removed them from the list in March 2025 after a U.S. court ruled against parts of the designation. A result from last year can be out of date, which is why a screening result should come with the time it was checked.
What a match means
An exact address match means the address you checked appears in an SDN entry. For a U.S. person, sending funds to it can violate sanctions law, and OFAC can impose civil penalties even when the sender did not know. For anyone, it is a clear sign that the address belongs to someone you should not be paying.
There is one subtlety for EVM networks. An Ethereum address string is also a valid address on BNB Chain, Polygon, Arbitrum and other EVM networks, and the same key usually controls all of them. If OFAC published the address for Ethereum and you are checking it on another EVM network, the match is likely meaningful, but the list does not confirm it for that network. A good report says so instead of hiding the difference.
What “no match” does not tell you
A clean result on the OFAC list has real limits:
- Coverage. The list contains only the addresses OFAC has identified and published. Sanctioned groups can and do use new addresses.
- Indirect exposure. The list check looks at the address itself. It does not tell you whether the funds in it recently passed through a sanctioned address or a mixer.
- Other risks. Most scam, phishing and theft addresses are not sanctioned at all. They appear in industry risk databases, not on the SDN list.
That is why sanctions screening is one part of checking an address, alongside its history and other risk sources. Our guide on how to check a wallet before you send puts the pieces together.
How Web3 Copilot shows sanctions results
Every Web3 Copilot report has an AML and sanctions card. Each source shows its own result, so you can see what was checked and what was not:
| Result | What it means |
|---|---|
| No matches found | The source checked this address and found no record. |
| Exact address match | The address appears on the OFAC list. |
| Network match not confirmed | The address string is listed, but for a different network. |
| Provider label, not a legal finding | A risk database labels the address, for example as phishing. This is not a sanctions designation. |
| Not supported | This source does not cover the network. |
| Check unavailable | The source could not be reached. Try again later. |
The sources are the published OFAC address list and a private risk database that shows where an address's money came from and adds labels such as scam, theft or money laundering. The risk database covers nine networks: Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Polygon, Arbitrum, Base, Optimism, Bitcoin, TRON and Solana.
The card feeds into the Risk Score. An exact sanctions match puts the score at 80 or higher, in the Critical band. If a source could not check the address, the card says so, and when there is too little data for a fair score, the report shows "Limited assessment" instead of a number. A missing check never looks like a clean one. Read more in how to read a crypto wallet AML check.