The European Commission has proposed a comprehensive ban on all cryptocurrency transactions related to Russia as part of the 20th round of sanctions against the Russian Federation. This was reported by the Financial Times, citing an internal European Commission document.
According to the proposal, EU citizens and companies will be prohibited from:
interacting with any cryptoasset service providers registered in Russia;
using any cryptocurrency transfer and exchange platforms established in the Russian Federation.
This measure is aimed at finally closing one of the last remaining channels for circumventing Western sanctions through digital assets outside the traditional banking system.
The European Union had previously imposed targeted restrictions on individual Russian crypto platforms, but according to Brussels, this approach was insufficiently effective. New “successors” (copycat entities) quickly emerged in the place of the blocked platforms. The most well-known example is the platforms associated with the Garantex exchange, which was previously sanctioned by the US and EU.
The new package also includes:
a ban on all transactions involving the digital ruble (the Bank of Russia’s CBDC);
the inclusion of approximately 20 additional regional Russian banks on sanctions lists;
restrictions on a number of banks in third countries that facilitate sanctions evasion;
the initial use of a new anti-sanctions evasion tool.
According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the new measures are intended to “put even greater pressure on Russia’s weak point—its financial system and alternative payment channels.”
Market experts are already calling the initiative one of the EU’s toughest steps in regulating crypto assets in the history of sanctions policy against Russia.