EU Cracks Down on Russia with Expanded Crypto Sanctions

The European Union has introduced new sanctions against Russia, expanding the scope of crypto restrictions. The 21st package of EU sanctions, approved on July 23, includes measures to ban Russians and Belarusians from owning or holding positions in EU-based MiCA crypto providers. The new provisions also enable the EU to impose blanket crypto transaction bans on countries that aid Russian evasion.

The EU has added 14 offshore crypto platforms to its list of banned entities, including those in Georgia, Panama, the UAE, the Marshall Islands, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus. These additions follow sweeping measures implemented in previous sanctions packages, which targeted the whole Russian crypto industry.

Economic sanctions expert Nick Turner notes that this shift means the EU is leaning into secondary sanctions, which may cause legal conflicts in jurisdictions where regulation conflicts with EU sanctions. He believes this measure will be used for diplomatic leverage at first, but it's hard to say if any country would be hit directly by these measures.