The European Union (EU) has issued its “largest package of sanctions” against Russia in two years, describing the measures as far-reaching and restrictive. They specifically target cryptocurrencies with a blanket ban on providers and platforms established in the country.
“Russia is increasingly relying on cryptocurrencies for international transactions,” the EU said in a statement on April 23. “The EU is imposing a comprehensive sectoral ban on providers and platforms in Russia that allow the transfer and exchange of crypto assets.”
The group also banned the Russian Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the ruble-pegged RUBx stablecoin, and all EU support for the development of a digital ruble.
According to the Chainaanalysis report, the sanctions include targeting 20 Russian banks and 4 third-country financial institutions and entities connected to the Russian Financial Information Transfer System (SPFS) (Russian Bank Information Network).
The blockchain intelligence firm said the EU also imposed sanctions on TengriCoin, a Kyrgyz cryptocurrency exchange operating under the name Meer.kg that traded large amounts of the government-backed stablecoin A7A5.
Chainaanalysis notes that enforcement has escalated over the years against the broader Garantex-Grinex-A7A5 ecosystem, which has been extensively tracked.
The company said the A7A5 has recorded a very high volume of business, having processed $119.7 billion in funds to date, and serves as a dedicated settlement railway designed to integrate sanctioned Russian businesses into the global financial system. In the 2026 Cryptocurrency Crime Report, this number exceeded $93.3 billion in less than a year.
“The new measures now establish ecosystem-wide cryptocurrency restrictions in Russia and Belarus,” the blockchain intelligence firm said.
The company said it will no longer allow people from the EU to transact with cryptocurrency service providers (CASPs) and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms from Russia and Belarus. They are also prohibited from providing crypto assets regulated market (MiCA) crypto services to Belarusian individuals and entities.
The EU also said that “net trading with Russian proxies is now prohibited to prevent the circumvention of EU sanctions.”
Countries mentioned in the package of sanctions related to financial services, trade flows or intermediary activities include Kyrgyzstan, China, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Belarus.