The European Union (EU) has strengthened sanctions against Russia in the cryptocurrency sector for the first time in two years. According to CoinDesk, the EU has introduced a complete ban on virtual asset service providers (CASPs) and platforms within Russia, and has also blocked the digital ruble (CBDC) and the ruble-pegged stablecoin RUBx. This measure comes amid concerns that Russia is increasing its reliance on cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions. The sanctions target includes 20 Russian banks, financial institutions linked to the SPFS payment network, and the Kyrgyz exchange Tengri Coin. Additionally, EU residents are prohibited from trading with Russian and Belarusian-based cryptocurrency and DeFi platforms, and from providing MiCA-regulated services.
