EU member states are discussing new sanctions for Russia amidst the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine and these include limiting access to European crypto services for Russians.
Earlier this year, the European Union had imposed a ban on ‘high value’ crypto asset services for Russian companies and residents, but now they are thinking of expanding this ban to other services as well.
More sanctions
The Russian president Vladimir Putin had recently announced partial mobilization as he is escalating his military efforts in Ukraine and is also annexing occupied Ukrainian territories via sham referendums.
These actions have drawn the ire of numerous countries around the world and the European Union has decided to impose more sanctions on Russia to punish it for its actions.
Trade will be the first target in the new package of sanctions with Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, announcing that a new ban could be imposed on Russian imports.
Moreover, they also plan on imposing a ban on exports of technologies that the Russian military can employ. They are also planning on imposing a price cap on Russian oil.
Crypto-related measures
The new round of sanctions is also expected to restrict the ability of the Russians to transfer their wealth with the use of digital assets, such as crypto.
Brussels intends to ban European companies from offering crypto account, wallet, or custody services to any Russian entities, or citizens.
Those with knowledge of the matter also said that precious stones and jewelry were also part of the list of assets.
The proposal also suggests that action be taken against all those who are trying to circumvent the sanctions.
Likewise, EU-nationals could also be banned from taking high-paying roles in companies owned by Russia.
Most importantly, it could also include punishments for entities and individuals who were involved in conducting the referendums that were recently held in Ukraine.
Other crypto sanctions
The sanctions that the EU introduced this spring targeted cryptocurrencies, which was the fifth round of sanctions that had been approved by the European Council.
These were meant to eliminate, or reduce, the loopholes that exist in the crypto space. Back then, the EU had prohibited crypto-asset services that were of ‘high value’ to Russian entities and individuals.
These restrictions of the European Union were applicable to digital funds that were in excess of 10,000 euros.
Moscow had launched its military campaign against Ukraine back in February, with the latter now granted the status of candidate for membership of the EU.
The 27-member bloc has come up with a number of packages since then for sanctioning the Russian Federation. All member states have to give their unanimous approval for them to be enforced.
Since then, many have warned about Russia using cryptocurrencies for evading sanctions and getting around the restrictions that have been placed on its access to the global financial system.
The country is also working on developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) called the digital ruble.