The European Union (EU) published its “largest package” of sanctions in two years against Russia, describing the measures as far-reaching and restrictive. They specifically target cryptocurrencies with a total ban on providers and platforms established in that country.
“Russia is becoming increasingly dependent on cryptocurrencies for international transactions,” the EU said in an April 23 statement. “The EU is introducing a complete sectoral ban on Russian-based providers and platforms that allow the transfer and exchange of crypto assets.”
The bloc also banned Russia’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), the ruble-pegged RUBx stablecoin, and all EU support for the development of the digital ruble.
The sanctions include measures against 20 Russian banks and four third-country financial institutions and entities that connect to the Russian Financial Message Transfer System (SPFS), the Russian banking messaging network, according to a report by Chainalysis.
The blockchain intelligence firm said the EU also imposed sanctions on TengriCoin, a Kyrgyz crypto exchange trading as Meer.kg, where significant amounts of the A7A5 government-backed stablecoin are traded.
That move follows years of stepped-up enforcement targeting the broader Garantex-Grinex-A7A5 ecosystem that has been widely tracked, Chainalysis noted.
As documented, A7A5 has been prolific, processing $119.7 billion to date and functioning as a purpose-built liquidation railroad to link sanctioned Russian companies to the global financial system, the firm said. In the 2026 Crypto Crime Report, that figure surpassed $93.3 billion in less than a year.
“The new measures now create an ecosystem-wide crypto restriction for Russia and Belarus,” the blockchain intelligence firm said.
The firm said that EU individuals are no longer allowed to transact with cryptocurrency service providers (CASP) and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms from Russia and Belarus. They are also prohibited from providing Crypto Asset Markets Regulation (MiCA) crypto services to Belarusian individuals and entities.
The EU also stated that “offset transactions with Russian agents are now prohibited, to prevent circumvention of EU sanctions.”
Countries referred to in the sanctions package in relation to financial services, trade flows or intermediation activities include Kyrgyzstan, China, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Belarus.
