The European Union’s tightening of sanctions on Russian for its continued invasion of Ukraine now includes a ban on all cryptocurrency wallet and custody services.
The EU’s eighth package of sanctions comes after new Russian aggressions including annexing four Ukrainian territories in what it calls “sham” referendum votes, calling up additional troops and threatening to use nuclear weapons.
According to a European Commission press release, the sanctions no longer permit any amount of crypto payments.
“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 (previously up to €10,000 was allowed).”
In April, the EU had placed the previous limit on “high-value” crypto activity within Russia, which the commission said was intended to “contribute to closing potential loopholes” on financial sanctions.
The outright ban on crypto activity comes just weeks after top Russian finance officials had struck a deal on legalizing digital assets for cross-border settlements.
The new package of sanctions also includes a ban on providing technology and other services to the Russian government or the country’s residents.
“The package widens the scope of services that can no longer be provided to the government of Russia or legal persons established in Russia: these now include IT consultancy, legal advisory, architecture and engineering services. These are significant as they will potentially weaken Russia’s industrial capacity because it is highly dependent on importing these services.”
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