The European Union has placed a blanket ban on all crypto services to Russian entities as part of its eighth round of sanctions against the country.
The European Commission’s press release stated, “The existing prohibitions on crypto assets have been tightened by banning all crypto-asset wallets, accounts, or custody services, irrespective of the amount of the wallet.”
The original limit, established in April, allowed such services to continue servicing Russian wallets holding €10,000 or less. The additional restrictions are meant to penalize Russia for escalating its illegal war against Ukraine, particularly by raising more troops and making explicit nuclear threats.
The package will also widen the number of services that can no longer be provided to Russians or the Russian government, including IT consultancy, legal advisory, architecture, and engineering services. According to the commission, Russia is heavily reliant on importing these services.
The added restriction comes a day after the EU finalized some of its key rules on crypto regulation. One of the laws passed included a requirement that wallet providers verify the identities of those using their services.
Upon implementing sanctions in February, American and European leaders immediately turned their attention to crypto, for fear the growing industry could help Russia bypass their trade restrictions.
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are peer-to-peer and permissionless, making it significantly more difficult for Western authorities to choke off trade facilitated through the network.
This has allowed foreign criminal organizations to leverage the technology in both ransomware schemes and even nuclear weapons financing. However, there are some limitations as most cryptocurrencies use highly transparent public ledgers, affording their users little transaction privacy.