The European Union (EU) imposed a blanket ban on Russia as part of its eighth round of sanctions Cryptocurrency services for Russian companies.
“Existing bans on crypto assets have been tightened by banning any crypto asset wallet, account or custody service, regardless of the size of the wallet,” the European Commission said in a press release problematic on Thursday.
The initial cap, set in April, allowed these companies to continue servicing Russian wallets with a content of no more than €10,000.
EU sanctions against Russia
The tougher sanctions are intended to punish Russia’s ongoing escalation and illegal war against Ukraine, which has involved the deployment of more troops and the blatant use of nuclear threats.
Also read: Russia is trying to legitimize the use of cryptos in cross-border payments
In addition to expanding the list of services that can no longer be offered to Russians or the Russian government, the package also expanded the list of services that included IT consulting, legal advice, and architectural and engineering services.
According to the commission, Russia is “highly dependent” on the import of these services.
The new restriction was imposed a day after the EU finalized several of its key regulations regulating cryptocurrencies.
One of the rules issued stipulated that wallet service providers must confirm the identity of the user.
Russia, sanctions and cryptocurrency
After sanctions were imposed in February, both American and European politicians turned their attention to cryptocurrencies, concerned that the development sector could empower Russia circumvent trade restrictions.
Peer-to-peer and permissionless cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin BTC/USD make it far more difficult for western governments to stifle trade enabled by the network.
This has enabled international criminal groups to use nuclear weapons financing technology as well as ransomware scams.
However, there are certain limitations. That…
