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Another caveat to the research is the prevalence of transactions with sanctioned entities, which accounted for a combined $14.9 billion (61.5%) of volume in 2023. Some of this $14.9 billion includes transactions from normal crypto users who happen to live in sanctioned jurisdictions. After all, not all of the Russia-based crypto exchange Garantex, which was sanctioned by the relevant bodies in both the U.S. and U.K. are using crypto for money laundering and ransomware.