The new crypto sanctions imposed by the European Union are likely to spur the development of the country’s digital asset market, according to a Russian lawmaker. Anatoly Aksakov, who chairs the parliamentary Financial Market Committee, believes Russians will manage to bypass the restrictions. Meanwhile, major exchanges have reportedly informed Russian users that trading continues.
Russians Find Ways to Circumvent Mounting European Crypto Sanctions, Duma Member Insists
This week, the EU adopted its eighth package of penalties against Russia, meant to hit its government, economy, and energy exports in response to the recent escalation of the military conflict in Ukraine and the annexation of Ukrainian territories. Russian access to cryptocurrency, viewed as a tool to circumvent financial restrictions and export wealth, was also targeted.
The Council of the European Union completely banned the provision of crypto wallet, account, and custody services to Russian residents and entities. However, according to a high-ranking member of the Russian parliament quoted by the Tass news agency, the EU decision may actually stimulate the development of Russia’s digital financial asset (DFA) market.
The opinion was expressed by Anatoly Aksakov, head of the Financial Market Committee at the State Duma, the lower house of Russian parliament. He has been deeply involved in recent efforts to regulate the country’s crypto space, including the use of digital currencies in international settlements. Authorities in Moscow have been discussing the matter for over a year and considering an expansion of the legal framework which currently covers mostly DFAs with an issuer, such as tokens.
The latest round of EU sanctions tightens previously imposed restrictions. Earlier this year, as part of its fifth package of measures approved a little over a month after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, the 27-strong bloc limited only “high-value” crypto-asset services for Russians and Russian-registered organizations — those for digital holdings exceeding €10,000 in fiat value (approx. $11,000 at the time, less than $10,000 now).
Binance, Huobi Comment on Latest EU Sanctions, No New Restrictions for Now
“Similar decisions have already been made before. They closed the official representative offices of their crypto exchanges in Russia, but de facto nothing has changed. There can also be an office in the virtual space, not at some address in…
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