Russia-Iran created ‘secret payment network’ with crypto: Transactions worth Rs 9.92 lakh crore, used to buy drones-weapons and oil…

Business Desk – To avoid economic sanctions from Western countries, Russia, Iran and North Korea have created a cryptocurrency-based parallel payment network, separate from the world’s traditional banking system. According to the report of Chainalysis, an organization that monitors crypto transactions, these countries made transactions worth about Rs 9.92 lakh crore through crypto in 2025. This figure is about 8 times more than that of 2024. According to the report, this network is being used not only for trade or investment, but also for payment for drones, weapons parts, military technology and oil.

Russia created A75 token linked to ruble

Russia has developed the A75 token pegged to the ruble to avoid international sanctions. In this system, rubles can be deposited within Russia and converted into cryptocurrency abroad. According to the report, by May 2025, transactions worth more than Rs 11.4 lakh crore were recorded in the A75 network. More than 41 thousand accounts and about 2.5 lakh transfers have been registered in this network.

Iran made crypto a means of oil payment

Iran has made its domestic crypto exchanges an alternative medium for oil sales and foreign payments. According to the report, the Revolutionary Guards take payment for oil sales in cryptocurrency and then send it to other countries through digital wallets. Experts believe that for Russia and Iran, crypto is now becoming a permanent financial system running parallel to economic sanctions.

North Korea collected Rs 20 thousand crore from crypto theft

According to the report, North Korea has made crypto theft a major means of funding its weapons program. In 2025, North Korean hackers stole cryptocurrency worth about Rs 20 thousand crores. The biggest incident happened on 21 February 2025, when Lazarus Group stole digital assets worth Rs 14,310 crore from crypto exchange Bybit.

American investigative agency FBI has linked this attack to the ‘TraderTraitor’ network. According to the report, since 2016, North Korea has stolen cryptocurrency worth $6.75 billion in 263 cyber attacks. This amount is being used to purchase missiles and military equipment.

Questions on Iran’s largest crypto exchange

The report claims that Iran’s largest crypto exchange Nobitex handles about 70 percent of the country’s digital currency transactions. It has 1.1 crore users. The report also mentions its connection with the close network of Iran’s supreme leader.

Chinese networks are turning black money worth Rs 4,200 crore into white every day

According to Chainalysis, money laundering networks linked to China are now working on ‘laundering-as-a-service’ model. These networks are converting black money worth about Rs 4,200 crore into white money every day. According to the report, in 2025, these networks converted Rs 1.54 lakh crore into white money. They are also used in processing payments to sanctioned countries and money related to terrorist funding.

Raised Rs 26,700 crore by taking fake jobs

The report also revealed that operatives linked to China, North Korea and Iran used fake identities, AI-generated documents and deepfake interviews to get remote jobs in crypto and tech companies in 40 countries across the world. It is reported that this network raised Rs 26,700 crore in the last two years. In many cases, local associates created fake companies so that the employees concerned appeared to be residents of the same country and working there.

Crypto becomes a new way to avoid sanctions

Experts say that for countries like Russia, Iran and North Korea, cryptocurrency has now become not just a means of investment, but an alternative financial network to continue trade, energy payments and military purchases by avoiding international sanctions. This is the reason why global security agencies and financial regulatory bodies are constantly keeping an eye on this parallel crypto ecosystem.