Wu Shuo learned from a report by The Bangkok Post that the Trump administration’s policies of actively embracing cryptocurrencies and easing regulation are inadvertently weakening the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions and the dollar hegemony. Data shows that illegal crypto transactions surged by more than 160% in 2025. Countries such as Russia and Iran are significantly using crypto infrastructure to bypass financial blockades. For example, Russia has legalized cryptocurrency cross-border settlement; Iran has recently begun charging “toll fees” in cryptocurrency payable in BTC or USDT to passing merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and some transactions are settled in seconds via the TRON network, with an estimated daily revenue of $36 million.