EU tightens sanctions against Russia with ban on crypto-wallet services
The European Union (EU) has banned all crypto-services to Russian entities. The blanket ban is part of the EU’s eighth round of sanctions against Russia for “continued escalation and illegal war against Ukraine.”
The aim of this move is to contain Russia’s revenues off trade with European entities so that it doesn’t use those resources to fight the war against Ukraine.
As per the European Commission’s press release, the ban on crypto-related services form only a part of the services being sanctioned by the EU. The new EU import bans are worth €7 billion, each of which aims to censure Russian aggression in Ukraine’s territory.
Besides crypto-services, IT consultancy, legal advisory, architecture and engineering services have also been banned as a part of this directive. None of these services can be offered to the Russian government or individuals as the country is highly dependent on Europe for these services.
Previously, crypto-services towards Russian wallets worth €10,000 or less were allowed as per the sanctions introduced in April this year. The new sanctions have been introduced in view of the Russian war escalation and President Putin’s nuclear war threats.
This week, the final words of the landmark Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) were finalized at a meeting of EU ambassadors on Wednesday. Once it is enforced, all the entities offering crypto-services in the EU would be required to publish a whit paper with all the information about the project.
It would also require wallet providers to verify the identities of its users.
Unlike the traditional banking system, Russia can rely on cryptocurrencies to get around the sanctions imposed by the EU.
A Chainalysis report published in February this year claimed that many
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