[U.S. Sanctions North Korean Crypto Money Laundering Network, Involved Amount Nearly $800 Million] The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned six individuals and two entities, accusing them of assisting North Korean IT workers in raising funds for North Korea's weapons programs through cryptocurrency transactions, with related revenues reaching nearly $800 million in 2024. The sanctioned individuals are located in Vietnam, Laos, Spain, and other countries, primarily using methods such as forging remote employment identities and cryptocurrency money laundering. Vietnamese national Nguyen Quang Viet converted approximately $2.5 million into cryptocurrency between 2023 and 2025. Multiple Ethereum, TRON, and Bitcoin addresses have been added to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, North Korean hackers stole over $2.17 billion in cryptocurrency in the first half of 2025, including a single attack on Bybit on February 21 that resulted in the theft of nearly $1.5 billion in Ethereum.