EU sanctions 14 crypto firms, targets $120B Russia-linked network

The European Union's 21st sanctions package targets 14 crypto service platforms and introduces a new tool to ban any crypto provider used by Russia.

The European Union on July 23 adopted its 21st sanctions package against Russia, targeting 14 crypto service platforms and the A7 cross-border payments network that has processed nearly $120 billion, as the bloc escalates efforts to choke off financial channels fueling Moscow's war in Ukraine.

"We're hitting over a hundred banks and crypto operators, 40-plus vessels in Russia's shadow fleet, and several oil refineries in Russia and Belarus," Kaja Kallas, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said in a statement. "Russia will only negotiate to end its illegal war and stop killing civilians if it is pressured to do so."

The package targets 14 unnamed crypto-related service platforms based in Georgia, Panama, the United Arab Emirates, the Marshall Islands, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus, according to the Council of the EU. It also designates four entities linked to the A7 network, a cross-border payments system built for sanctions evasion where the A7A5 stablecoin operates. Chainalysis data shows the network has processed nearly $120 billion to date, while analytics firm Elliptic reported that A7A5 alone moved over $100 billion in a single year. The EU is also freezing assets and banning transactions for 94 banks and extending its transaction ban to 33 additional Russian credit and financial institutions.

For the first time, the package introduces an instrument that would allow the EU to ban any transaction between an EU operator and any crypto provider used by Russia, regardless of where that provider is based. The move comes three days after Russia's State Duma passed legislation establishing the country's first comprehensive crypto regulatory framework, set to take effect Sept. 1. Alexey Zyuzin, CEO of the Institute for the Development of the Crypto Industry, said the market is likely to split into two circuits: a legal domestic market under Russian regulatory control and a cross-border segment where sanctions and technological risks will persist.

A Cat-and-Mouse Game That Keeps Escalating

The EU's approach to Russian crypto sanctions has evolved through successive rounds. When the US sanctioned the Garantex exchange in 2022 and the EU followed in early 2025, police seized its website and froze over $26 million in March 2025 — only for the team to relaunch it as a near-copy called Grinex within days. That pattern drove the EU to ban Russia's entire crypto sector in May, and now to target platforms in third countries where Russian users might turn next.

What Changes for Russian Users

Bitcoin and other coins remain legal to own and hold in self-custody wallets. But access is tightening. Exchanges operating under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation must verify fund sources and block any entity tied to sanctions. Some users have already seen accounts frozen after deposits traced back to A7A5. "Working with crypto will become more expensive, slower, and somewhat less transparent," Nikolai Zagvozdkin, product development director for crypto at RBC, said. The package also includes 218 new designations — 48 individuals and 170 legal entities — and suspends the automatic adjustment of the international oil price cap for 12 months, a measure the European Commission estimates could cost Russia about 3.5 billion euros ($3.98 billion) annually.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.