OFAC Cuba: Crypto Risks, Sanctions, and What You Need to Know

When you hear OFAC Cuba, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control’s restrictions on financial activity involving Cuba, it’s not just about politics — it’s about your crypto wallet. OFAC, the U.S. government agency that enforces economic sanctions, blocks transactions tied to Cuba, including crypto transfers, exchange deposits, and even airdrops linked to Cuban-based entities. If you’re trading, holding, or sending crypto and your activity touches Cuba — even indirectly — you could be violating federal law.

This isn’t theoretical. In 2024, the U.S. Treasury seized over $40 million in cryptocurrency from wallets linked to sanctioned jurisdictions, including Cuba. Platforms like Garantex, a now-banned Russian exchange with ties to sanctioned regions and others with weak KYC controls have been used to route funds through intermediaries to avoid detection. These aren’t just risky — they’re illegal under OFAC rules. Even if you’re not in the U.S., using a platform that serves American users while processing Cuba-related transactions can get your account frozen or your funds confiscated.

What does this mean for you? If you’re using a decentralized exchange (DEX) that doesn’t screen for sanctioned addresses — like SkullSwap, a nearly dead Fantom DEX with no audits or oversight — you might unknowingly send crypto to a blocked wallet. Same goes for airdrops tied to projects with hidden ties to sanctioned countries. The asset forfeiture, the legal process governments use to seize crypto tied to illegal activity isn’t just for drug cartels or ransomware gangs anymore. It’s for anyone who ignores sanctions.

Privacy coins like Monero or Zcash might seem like a workaround, but OFAC tracks blockchain patterns, not just addresses. Even if you hide your transaction details, the flow of funds from a sanctioned region still leaves a trail. And if your exchange gets flagged — like Blockfinex or NovaEx — your entire account could be locked without warning.

There’s no gray area here. OFAC Cuba sanctions are clear: no crypto transactions with Cuban individuals, entities, or infrastructure. Period. That includes using wallets hosted on servers in Cuba, participating in projects registered there, or even accepting tokens from users who’ve previously interacted with sanctioned addresses. The U.S. government doesn’t need proof of intent — just proof of contact.

What you’ll find in the posts below are real cases: exchanges that got shut down for ignoring sanctions, wallets that vanished after being flagged, and the quiet ways crypto users accidentally break the law. You’ll see how airdrops like CHIHUA or SUNI can be traps if they’re tied to unverified sources. You’ll learn why platforms like Changelly Pro aren’t available in certain countries — and what that really means for compliance. This isn’t about speculation. It’s about survival in a world where your crypto can disappear overnight because of a single transaction you didn’t realize was forbidden.