How Citizens in Sanctioned Countries Access Crypto Exchanges

Man, I never realized how many people are just trying to feed their kids with crypto. It’s wild how DAI became the new lifeline after Tether froze those wallets. No CEO can shut it down - that’s the real power move.

People aren’t trying to be hackers. They’re just trying to buy insulin without begging for charity.

It’s not about rebellion. It’s about survival. And honestly? The system’s broken if this is what it takes to stay alive.

So let me get this straight - we’re praising people for bypassing sanctions meant to stop nuclear programs and human rights abuses? Great. Next you’ll say stealing medicine from a pharmacy is okay because ‘they needed it.’

Sanctions aren’t about punishing civilians - they’re about pressuring regimes. Crypto isn’t a lifeline, it’s a loophole for dictators and their enablers.

Hey, I get where Sue’s coming from - sanctions are serious business. But I’ve talked to teachers in Tehran who use Telegram bots to buy insulin. They’re not funding missiles.

Maybe the real question is: why are we forcing families to choose between their kids’ health and obeying a system that doesn’t care if they live or die?

There’s gotta be a better way than freezing wallets and calling it justice.

Let’s cut the sentimental nonsense. DAI isn’t some magical ethical coin - it’s just another tool. And tools don’t care who uses them. The same DAI that buys insulin also buys missile parts.

Decentralized doesn’t mean moral. Just because it’s hard to trace doesn’t make it right.

OFAC isn’t evil. They’re trying to stop war criminals. If you think crypto is just for ‘ordinary people,’ you’re not looking at the full picture.

bro i had no idea ppl were using steam gift cards to buy crypto 😭

like imagine buying a $50 steam card in india, selling it on p2p for usdt, then trading it for dai so your mom can get her diabetes meds

the system is so broken its almost poetic

I’ve been reading this whole thing and I just feel so heavy. Not because of the politics - but because of the quiet resilience.

People aren’t signing up for Binance. They’re not even using wallets with their names. They’re using MetaMask like a secret language. Just to keep their families alive.

I don’t know how to fix the world, but I know we should stop pretending this is just a tech issue.

lol so crypto is the new black market now? 🤡

next you'll say the mafia's just 'entrepreneurs' because they 'create jobs.'

sanctions are law. if you break it, you're a criminal. no matter how 'emotional' your story is.

In India, we’ve seen how crypto helps small businesses bypass forex controls. I’ve known shopkeepers who use USDT to pay suppliers in Bangladesh. It’s not about sanctions - it’s about efficiency.

When banks charge 15% for wire transfers and take 5 days, crypto is the only rational choice. The morality comes later - first, people need to eat.

I wonder if the people who design these sanctions ever sit down with someone who uses crypto to buy insulin. Do they know what it feels like to watch your child go without medicine because a bank froze your account?

Maybe the problem isn’t crypto. Maybe it’s that we’ve made survival into a crime.

Let’s be real - the entire global financial system is built on extraction. Sanctions are just another form of economic warfare. Crypto isn’t the problem - it’s the symptom.

People don’t turn to decentralized systems because they’re tech-savvy. They turn to them because centralized systems have failed them.

And guess what? The system will keep trying to crush it. But you can’t regulate human desperation. You can only try to understand it.

There’s a quiet dignity in how people adapt. No grand speeches. No protests. Just a Telegram bot, a wallet, and a prayer.

It’s not about crypto being ‘free.’ It’s about being allowed to be human when the world says you’re not.

Maybe the real revolution isn’t in the blockchain - it’s in the fact that millions still choose dignity over surrender.

For everyone saying ‘this is illegal’ - yes, technically. But legality doesn’t equal morality.

Think about the Underground Railroad. Was it legal? No. Was it right? Absolutely.

People aren’t breaking rules to be rebels. They’re breaking rules because the rules are broken.

Let’s not confuse obedience with justice.

While I acknowledge the humanitarian imperative, the legal and geopolitical implications of enabling circumvention of multilateral sanctions cannot be dismissed as mere technicalities. The erosion of international financial norms, even in pursuit of noble ends, risks destabilizing the global order upon which economic stability, and ultimately, human security, depends.

There must be a more structured, accountable pathway - one that preserves both dignity and the rule of law.

why do you think the government cares about your insulin

they care about the money they're not getting

and if you're using crypto to buy food

then you're just helping the system keep going

they don't want you to survive

they want you to beg

and then they'll give you a sandwich

and call it mercy

My aunt in Russia used crypto to send her grandkids vitamins during the winter. She didn’t know what DAI was. She just knew the bank wouldn’t let her send money.

She asked me to help her buy it on a Telegram bot. I cried while I did it.

This isn’t politics. This is love. And we can’t pretend it’s not happening.

Oh look, another ‘crypto is for the oppressed’ fairy tale. Tell me, does the Iranian regime also use DAI to buy fighter jets? Or is that just a coincidence?

Let’s not romanticize criminal behavior because it’s convenient. You’re not a hero for bypassing sanctions - you’re a participant in a global evasion network.

And yes, I know your mom needs insulin. But that doesn’t make you right.

Is it not the height of human arrogance to believe that technology can transcend the moral architecture of civilization?

We have laws for a reason - not to punish the poor, but to protect the structure that allows the poor to exist at all.

When we elevate crypto as a moral alternative to sanctions, we are not liberating people - we are dissolving the very framework that holds society together.

And what comes after dissolution?

Chaos.

And chaos has no mercy.

It’s fascinating how the same people who decry centralized power suddenly become evangelists for blockchain when it suits their convenience.

Decentralization only matters when it’s convenient. When it comes to compliance, regulation, or accountability? Suddenly it’s ‘too complex’ or ‘unfair.’

It’s not a revolution. It’s hypocrisy with a wallet.

Oh my god you people are so naive. The US doesn’t care if your kid gets insulin. They care if the regime gets cash. And guess what? Crypto lets them get both.

Don’t act like you’re Robin Hood. You’re just the guy handing the bandits the ladder.

And if you think DAI is ‘safe’ - you haven’t seen what happens when the blockchain gets blacklisted.

They’ll freeze the whole network next. And then where will you be?

i just read this whole thing and now i’m crying in my car

why does it have to be this hard

why can’t we just let people live