Sanctions on Russia and Belarus will include crypto — European Commission

Published at: March 9, 2022

The European Commission has clarified that crypto assets will fall under additional sanctions targeted against Russia and Belarus in response to the military conflict in Ukraine.

In a Wednesday statement, the European Commission said member states had agreed to amend regulations with the goal of ensuring “even more effectively that Russian sanctions cannot be circumvented, including through Belarus.” The commission said crypto assets fell under the scope of “transferable securities,” adding that loans and credit provided using crypto would not be permitted as part of these restrictive financial measures.

We are further tightening the net of sanctions responding to Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine•Listing 160 individuals: oligarchs, Russian Federation Council members•Belarus banking sector•Export of maritime navigation technology to Russia•Adding crypto-assets

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) March 9, 2022

The expansion of sanctions follows the commission announcing in February that it would be removing several Russian banks from the SWIFT cross-border payment network — measures that did not specify how to handle crypto at the time. The European Parliament Committee on Economics and Monetary Affairs is also preparing to hold a vote on a regulatory framework for crypto assets in the EU on March 14.

Both the United States and the European Union have hinted they would be looking at Russia potentially using digital currency to evade sanctions that some have described as “economic warfare.” On Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order which will require government agencies to coordinate and consolidate policy on a national framework for crypto as well as explore the potential rollout of a central bank digital currency — the order mentioned the risks of circumventing sanctions three times.

Related: Crypto offers Russia no way out from Western sanctions

In addition to action from lawmakers, private businesses from fast food chain McDonald’s to major credit card companies including Visa and Mastercard have announced they will be scaling down in Russia and Belarus or entirely stopping operations in the two countries in response to the situation with Ukraine. Crypto exchange Binance also said on Tuesday it would no longer be able to take payments from the two major credit cards issued in Russia due to the companies’ decision.

Tags
Regulation
Cryptocurrencies
Russia
Sanctions
Europe
European Union
Belarus
Related Posts
EU bans providing 'high-value crypto-asset services' to Russia
The Council of the European Union has cut Russians off from certain cryptocurrency services as part of a package of restrictive measures against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “brutal aggression against Ukraine and its people.” In a Friday announcement, the EU council said it would be closing potential loopholes in using digital assets for Russian entities and individuals to evade sanctions with a “prohibition on providing high-value crypto-asset services” to the country. The action was one of three financial measures the European Commission proposed alongside banning transactions and freezing assets connected to four Russian banks as well as a “prohibition on …
Regulation / April 8, 2022
Russians banned from accessing Bitmex within European Union
Major cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX is working to increase compliance with the European sanctions against Russia by preparing to enforce major restrictions for its Russian users. BitMEX is changing its restricted jurisdictions policy to be compliant with various restrictive measures of the European Union, Cointelegraph has learned. The BitMEX crypto exchange notified a group of potentially affected users about the upcoming changes via email on Monday. According to an email seen by Cointelegraph, Russian citizens or residents will no longer be able to access BitMEX services from the European Union after July 11, 2022. That means that such users will not …
Bitcoin / July 5, 2022
EU regulators ban cross-border payments from Russian crypto accounts
In a statement released on Oct. 6, the European Union introduced another set of sanctions against Russia due to the prolonged and recently escalated conflict in Ukraine. The new sanctions include a complete ban on cross-border crypto payments between Russians and E.U. This statement includes the prohibition of, “all crypto-asset wallets, accounts, or custody services, irrespective of the amount of the wallet." New sanctions were installed as a response to Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory as the result of what the EU calls a “sham” referendum, along with troop mobilization and threats of nuclear escalation. The previous sanctions capped …
Regulation / Oct. 6, 2022
Russian users are welcomed by crypto exchanges in Kazakhstan, but there’s a catch
Some cryptocurrency exchanges continue onboarding Russian nationals despite the latest Western sanctions against Russia, but not without certain restrictions. In late September, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev witnessed the nation’s first regulated fiat-to-crypto purchase by a local commercial bank, the Eurasian Bank. The transaction involved a local crypto exchange called Intebix, which allows retail clients to buy crypto with the local currency, the Kazakhstani tenge (KZT). Intebix is not limited to Kazakhstani nationals, and the crypto exchange is willing to service foreigners coming to the country, according to Intebix co-founder and CEO Talgat Dosanov. He emphasized that Intebix’s crypto transactions are …
Bitcoin / Oct. 20, 2022
Binance still serving Russians while seeking clarity on EU crypto sanctions
In the weeks following new sanctions from the European Union, Binance has kept its doors open for non-sanctioned Russian nationals, but that does not mean that the firm isn't complying with EU sanctions, according to Binance’s newly-appointed sanctions executive. Western sanctions against Russia have been a major challenge for Binance from day one, and the firm has been working hard to comply, Binance’s global head of sanctions Chagri Poyraz told Cointelegraph in an interview. Since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Binance has comprehensively blocked several non-government-controlled territories of Ukraine, including annexed regions like Donetsk and Luhansk, Poyraz said. …
Regulation / Oct. 28, 2022