The Trump administration is preparing to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), potentially barring the institution from using US dollar transaction rails. These measures, based on Executive Order 14203 signed in February 2025, would follow a six to seven month wind-down period. This marks the first time Washington has targeted the ICC as an institution rather than individual staff members.
The proposed sanctions aim to restrict the court's ability to process payments for salaries, vendors, and witness costs. Previously, the US had already sanctioned individual judges and prosecutors, which led to the closure of bank accounts and cancellation of credit cards. Judge Kimberly Prost noted that these actions have created significant operational difficulties for the court.
While some have speculated that stablecoins could serve as an alternative to the dollar, current US regulations effectively close this path. The GENIUS Act, implemented in April 2026, requires stablecoin issuers to maintain the technical capability to freeze, block, and reject transactions based on the OFAC sanctions list. Tether, for instance, previously froze $344 million in assets on the Tron network.
Bitcoin also faces limitations as a workaround, as converting it into fiat currency still requires regulated exchanges and banks that adhere to OFAC screening requirements. Furthermore, the US has previously sanctioned entire crypto platforms. The ICC itself has not turned to cryptocurrency, opting instead to migrate its office software from Microsoft to the open-source platform openDesk.
