US Treasury Sanctions Houthi Financial Networks Including Eight Crypto Addresses

Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions targeting the financial infrastructure of Ansarullah (the Houthis), a Yemen-based group designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity. The designations included eight cryptocurrency addresses controlled by the group. These actions are part of ongoing efforts to disrupt financial support for the Houthis and their links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps–Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and other actors.

The Houthis were originally designated as a terrorist organization on January 10, 2021, then removed from that list in February 2021, and re-designated on February 16, 2024. The sanctions target individuals, entities, and networks engaged in financing Houthi operations through both traditional and digital financial systems.

The eight cryptocurrency wallet addresses designated by OFAC are controlled by the Houthis and associated actors. Two of these addresses were previously linked to Sa'id al-Jamal, an Iran-based financial facilitator affiliated with both the Houthis and the IRGC-QF. Other designated addresses have ties to entities identified by Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) as involved in terrorist financing.

According to TRM Labs, on-chain analysis of the eight cryptocurrency addresses designated today shows millions of dollars in volume flowing to other high-risk and OFAC-sanctioned entities, including Sa’id al-Jamal and Garantex, as well as to addresses identified by TRM as belonging to manufacturers and sellers of both unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and anti-UAV equipment connected to China and Russia.

Today’s action is part of a broader effort targeting the Iranian-back Houthis. On March 15, 2025, the United States launched extensive airstrikes against the group in Yemen, in response to escalating Houthi attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea. Concurrently, the US has intensified economic measures against the Houthis, reinstating their designation as a "foreign terrorist organization" and imposing sanctions on individuals and entities linked to their financial networks. This includes specifically targeting the Houthis' cryptocurrency activities due to their role in financing militant operations and evading international sanctions. In December 2024, the US Treasury sanctioned cryptocurrency wallets connected to al-Jamal.

The Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah, are a political and armed movement in Yemen primarily based in the country's northwest. In 2014, they took control of large parts of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, with almost 70% of the population in areas under their control. The Houthis have established governance structures in the areas they control, overseeing local administration, security, and justice systems. Their primary sources of revenue include taxation and customs duties collected at ports and checkpoints, as well as funds generated through smuggling operations, particularly of fuel and weapons. Additionally, they have turned to digital currencies, partly to evade international sanctions and to fund their ongoing conflict and governance efforts. 

The Houthi financial apparatus relies heavily on money service businesses under their control to circumvent international sanctions and funnel large sums of money to their operations. Al-Jamal’s network, for instance, has leveraged entities such as Mohammed Ali Al Thawr Exchange and Al Hazmi Exchange to channel millions of dollars into Yemen. These funds have been used to support money-laundering activities involving the IRGC-QF and to cover the sanctioned assets of al-Jamal-controlled entities like the Davos Exchange and Remittances Company. These exchanges, operating under the guise of legitimate financial institutions, have played a pivotal role in laundering illicit proceeds and maintaining the Houthis’ financial stability. 

​The Houthi movement in Yemen has leveraged cryptocurrency mining as part of their financial strategies amid the ongoing civil conflict. Evidence indicates that the Houthis have been involved in mining decentralized cryptocurrencies since at least 2017. This initiative aims to generate revenue and establish financial autonomy, circumventing traditional banking systems and international sanctions. The impact of those efforts remains fairly limited.

The eight designated cryptocurrency addresses are now flagged in TRM Labs’ blockchain intelligence tool. TRM works closely with US, Israeli, and global law enforcement partners to track, analyze, and disrupt the use of digital assets in support of terrorist financing. These partnerships enable real-time identification of high-risk wallets and networks, helping prevent further exploitation of cryptocurrency infrastructure by sanctioned entities such as the Houthis.