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EU’s largest measures against Russia yet include escalation of crypto sanctions evasion
The European Union noted that Russia has become increasingly reliant on cryptocurrency to circumvent sanctions.
Apr 27, 2026, 10:42 a.m.
What to know:
- The EU unveiled its largest Russia sanctions package in two years, imposing a total ban on the country’s crypto providers and platforms and blocking the central bank’s digital ruble and the RUBx stablecoin.
- The measures target 20 Russian banks, four third-country financial institutions linked to Russia’s SPFS messaging network, and the Kyrgyz exchange TengriCoin.
- EU residents are now prohibited from transacting with Russian and Belarusian crypto and DeFi platforms or providing MiCA-regulated services.
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 connecting to the Russian System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS), the Russian banking messaging network, according to a Chainalysis report.
The blockchain intelligence firm said the EU also imposed sanctions on TengriCoin, a Kyrgyz crypto exchange operating as Meer.kg, where significant amounts of the government-backed stablecoin A7A5 are traded.
