coindesk.com
The European Union (EU) has clarified that sanctions placed on Russia and Belarus extend to crypto assets.
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Crypto assets fall into the category of "transferrable securities" and are therefore clearly included in the scope of sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of the Ukraine and on Belarus for its involvement.
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"Loans and credit can be provided by any means, including crypto assets," the EU said on Wednesday.
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The EU also announced the expansion of existing financial restrictions on Belarus to mirror those already in place on Russia.
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These include restrictions on the provision of SWIFT services to three Belarusian banks and their subsidiaries, prohibition of transaction with the Central Bank of Belarus and prohibiting the list of securities in relation to shares of Belarus state-owned entities on EU trading venues.
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Concerns have been raised by U.S. lawmakers that crypto could be used by Russia as a means to evade sanctions, but the extent of this is debatable. Salman Banei, head of public policy for blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis told CoinDesk TV it was "unlikely" this was happening.
Read more: Crypto Still Isn't Helping Russian Oligarchs Evade Sanctions