US Treasury erases 80 outdated names from sanctions blacklist as part of review

The US Treasury Department is scrubbing roughly 80 names from its sanctions blacklist. The entries being removed include dead people, companies that no longer exist, and other designations that have long outlived their usefulness.

The action targets the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list, maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

What the SDN list actually does

Every bank, broker, exchange, and money transmitter in the US is legally required to screen transactions against it. If a name matches, the transaction gets frozen.

The list currently contains thousands of entries: individuals, shell companies, vessels, even crypto wallet addresses. When a name sits on that list, it effectively cuts the designated party off from the US dollar system.

Why this cleanup matters now

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent framed the review in terms of operational focus. On May 19, he emphasized the importance of disrupting Iran’s financing networks, signaling that the administration wants OFAC’s resources pointed at active, sophisticated threats rather than spent maintaining outdated designations.

This cleanup also represents a departure from how the current administration has handled delistings previously. Throughout 2025 and into 2026, name removals from the SDN list were typically handled on a case-by-case basis without a formal review framework. This batch removal, tied to a broader effectiveness review, suggests a more systematic approach going forward.

What crypto investors should take away

None of the roughly 80 names being removed appear to be crypto-related. No wallet addresses, no DeFi protocols, no exchanges.

OFAC has been increasingly active in the crypto space in recent years, adding wallet addresses and protocol-related entities to the SDN list. The fact that a formal effectiveness review is underway could eventually extend to crypto-related entries as well.

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