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President Donald Trump announced plans to remove Syria from the US State Sponsors of Terrorism list during a meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the NATO summit in Ankara on July 8. Syria has held that designation since 1979, making this one of the most significant US foreign policy pivots in the Middle East in decades.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has already notified Congress, kicking off a 45-day review period. Unless lawmakers intervene, Syria’s terror designation gets wiped clean.
From sanctions to handshakes
Trump signed an executive order on June 30, 2025, lifting extensive US sanctions on Syria effective July 1. Al-Sharaa and his political organization, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), were removed from various terror lists back in November 2025. The delisting from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list is the final domino.
When asked whether he’d proceed with the delisting, Trump was characteristically blunt. “I think I will, yeah. Why wouldn’t I? He’s done a great job,” he said of al-Sharaa.
What matters for markets is that the US is now treating Syria’s interim government as a legitimate partner rather than a pariah state.
Al-Sharaa, for his part, has executed one of the more remarkable political rebrandings in recent memory. He went from leading an armed faction that the US classified as a terrorist organization to shaking hands at NATO summits.
Why crypto markets should pay attention
Sanctions regimes and terror designations are the plumbing of the global financial system. They determine which countries can access dollar-denominated markets, which entities can use SWIFT, and which regions remain cut off from international capital flows.
The lifting of sanctions on Syria effective July 1, 2025, already opened the door. Gulf states, which have been positioning themselves as reconstruction partners for post-Assad Syria, now have significantly fewer compliance barriers to deploying capital in the region.
When sanctions were eased on countries like Iran (briefly, under the 2015 JCPOA) and Venezuela, local demand for crypto spiked as populations sought access to dollar-pegged stablecoins and cross-border payment mechanisms. Syria’s population has been largely locked out of traditional banking infrastructure for years.
The bigger macro picture
The 45-day congressional review period is the immediate variable to watch. Congress could theoretically block the delisting, though the political dynamics make that unlikely given the administration’s momentum. If the review passes without intervention, Syria officially exits a list it has been on for 47 years.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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