Bitcoin AML check: address and transaction screening
Paste a Bitcoin address or transaction ID to screen it for free. We check it against the U.S. Treasury OFAC SDN sanctions list (532 Bitcoin addresses of 65 people and entities, list published 2026-10-09) and 1,767 public labels of exchanges, custodians and seized funds, then show on-chain facts from mempool.space. "No match" only means the address is not on these public lists: it is not a risk score and does not prove the coins are clean.
We don't store what you enter. The check runs against public data only.
What we check
- OFAC SDN list (U.S. Treasury): 532 sanctioned BTC addresses of 65 people and entities, published 2026-10-09. For a transaction we check every input and output address.
- Public labels: 1,767 addresses of exchanges, custodians and seized funds (DefiLlama open address book + our whale-wallet DB).
- Blockchain facts from mempool.space: balance, transaction count, first/last seen, address type, and the direct counterparties of the latest 25 transactions.
- Heuristics, clearly labeled: CoinJoin-like transactions, batch payouts, consolidation, address reuse, RBF, OP_RETURN.
Example: what a result looks like
Two real addresses from the same data the checker uses. A live check also adds balance, transaction count, first and last activity and the direct counterparties.
HYDRA MARKET (Entity, programs: CYBER2) · OFAC #36216
List published 2026-10-09. What to do: do not transact; get legal advice.
Check this address →Known service: Binance (known exchange; DefiLlama bitcoin-book)
What to do: normal for an exchange wallet; confirm deposit addresses inside your own account.
Check this address →Short form in results: 3K4rjdh8A5…EbPSSSX4. Sources: OFAC SDN list (published 2026-10-09), DefiLlama bitcoin-book address labels.
What the result means
Match on the OFAC SDN sanctions list
The address itself, one of the transaction's addresses, or a direct counterparty from its latest 25 transactions is on the U.S. Treasury sanctions list.
What to do: Stop: do not send to it or accept coins from it. Dealing with sanctioned parties may be illegal in your jurisdiction, so get professional legal advice first.
Known service
The address is in a public address book as an exchange, custodian, protocol or government (seized funds) wallet.
What to do: Usually normal for exchange deposits and withdrawals. Labels come from open sources and can be incomplete or out of date, so confirm a deposit address inside your own exchange account.
Observation (heuristic)
The transaction has a recognisable shape: CoinJoin-like, batch payout, consolidation, address reuse, Replace-by-Fee or an OP_RETURN output. These are patterns, not proof of anything.
What to do: Nothing to fix. If you send such coins to an exchange, keep records of where they came from, because some compliance teams ask about CoinJoin-like history.
No match
The address is not on the OFAC SDN list and has no public label in our data.
What to do: This is not a clean bill of health. Professional tools trace funds across many hops with private data; use one (see the table below) if the amount matters.
My exchange froze a transfer: what now?
- Ask for the reason in writing. Open a ticket through the exchange's official support, get the ticket number and ask which transaction is held and what documents they need. Nobody legitimate will ask for your seed phrase, and people who message you offering to "unfreeze" or "recover" funds are a common scam.
- Show where the coins came from. Collect source-of-funds evidence: withdrawal history from the exchange you bought on, purchase receipts, invoices, salary or mining payouts.
- Give them the transaction trail. List the transaction IDs of the deposit and of the earlier hops you control, with mempool.space links, so the reviewer can follow the path without guessing.
- Don't split or reshuffle the funds. While the review is open, don't move the rest of the coins around, split them into small amounts or send them through mixers. That adds more flags to their history, not fewer.
- Get a professional report if needed. Exchanges usually rely on a commercial analytics vendor. A report from one of the services below shows the kind of exposure they may be looking at. This page is not legal advice.
Why exchanges check at all, and how buying with and without KYC differs: Buying Bitcoin: KYC exchanges vs P2P →
Professional AML checkers compared
What each service's own pages said on 2026-10-22. "—" means we could not confirm it there. We have no relationship with any of these services; this is not a recommendation.
| Service | Free | Account needed | API | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OFAC Sanctions List Search | Official U.S. Treasury search, free | No | List files to download (SDN) | sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov (2026-10-22) |
| Chainalysis | Sanctions screening tools "free of charge" | Request access with a form | Yes: sanctions API | go.chainalysis.com (2026-10-22) |
| Scorechain | Sanctions API, non-commercial use, 100 requests an hour | Email to get access details | Yes | scorechain.com (2026-10-22) |
| Elliptic | 14-day free trial | Yes, after verification | Yes: AML API | elliptic.co, developers.elliptic.co (2026-10-22) |
| AMLBot | — | — | Yes: web API and widget | docs.amlbot.com (2026-10-22) |
| Crystal Intelligence | — | Business sales (demo request) | Yes | crystalintelligence.com (2026-10-22) |
We don't list prices. Terms change, so check each service's own site before you use it.
AML check: questions and answers
What is an AML check for Bitcoin?
AML stands for anti-money laundering. An AML check screens a Bitcoin address or transaction for links to sanctioned parties, hacks, scams or other illicit sources. Exchanges run such checks on deposits and withdrawals. This page does the public first step: the OFAC SDN list, public address labels and on-chain facts.
Is this AML check free?
Yes. There is no sign-up and no payment. To keep the service up, each visitor can run up to 8 checks a minute. We don't store the addresses or transaction IDs you enter.
Can a clean result guarantee an exchange will accept my coins?
No. Exchanges use commercial analytics that trace funds several hops back, use private intelligence and apply their own risk rules. They can also ask for proof of where the coins came from whatever any public check says.
What is the OFAC SDN list?
The Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list is published by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Some entries include digital currency addresses. Our copy holds 532 Bitcoin addresses of 65 people and entities, from the list published 2026-10-09.
Does a CoinJoin flag mean my coins are dirty?
No. CoinJoin is a privacy technique where several people combine their payments in one transaction. Our flag is a heuristic (many inputs and several equal outputs), not a finding. Some exchanges treat CoinJoin history as higher risk, so expect questions and keep your records.