1.) What would be the best currency to use for international transfers from the US to places like India, North Korea, the Middle East.
Huh? North Korea? Are they open for some communications in their country? The best cryptocurrency you should use is bitcoin.
2.) How could the recipients turn their crypto into cash without going through a bank? For example, if we sent 10,000 worth of Rupee to India via crypto, how would the end user convert this into Rupee in their country?
Try using paypal. I think it would be probably less suspected if you will first use paypal before putting it to bank.