Yemeni Citizens Turn to DeFi as US Sanctions Target Houthi Group
The post Yemeni Citizens Turn to DeFi as US Sanctions Target Houthi Group appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
TLDR Yemeni citizens increasingly use DeFi protocols as sanctions against Houthis limit traditional banking DeFi accounts for 63% of Yemen’s crypto web traffic, while centralized exchanges account for 18% US has sanctioned cryptocurrency addresses linked to Houthis, with over $900 million in outflows identified Crypto adoption spiked after sanctions, with one Yemen-based exchange seeing a 270% volume increase Houthis have used crypto to procure weapons and military equipment, including UAVs from Russian brokers Yemeni citizens are turning to decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms at growing rates as US sanctions targeting the Houthi group restrict access to traditional banking services. This shift comes as the war-torn nation grapples with both ongoing conflict and financial isolation. Yemen has been in a civil war between the government and the Houthi group since September 2014. The US has repeatedly imposed sanctions on financial infrastructure in the country to disrupt Houthi activities. The most recent US action on April 17 targeted the International Bank of Yemen. This follows the Biden administration’s relisting of the Houthis as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in January 2024 and their subsequent designation as a foreign terrorist organization. DeFi Usage Patterns According to blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, DeFi platforms now account for the majority of Yemen’s crypto-related web traffic. These decentralized services make up over 63% of observed activity. Global centralized exchanges account for only 18% of crypto-related web traffic in the country. This pattern suggests Yemenis prefer systems that allow transactions without intermediaries. “For those who use cryptocurrencies in Yemen, the ability to bypass the disruption in local financial services offers a modicum of financial resilience,” TRM Labs reported. This is especially valuable as banks in the region are “difficult to access or are simply inoperable due to the ongoing conflict.” Some local Yemenis use peer-to-peer crypto transactions to…
