thecoinrise.com
In reaction to the current crisis in Ukraine, the European Commission (EC) has stated that crypto assets will be subject to further sanctions against Russia and Belarus.
The European Commission said in a statement on Wednesday that member governments had agreed to change regulations to ensure “even more effectively that sanctions on Russia cannot be circumvented, including through Belarus.”
According to the commission, digital currencies fall within the category of “transferable securities,” and as a result of these financial restrictions, crypto loans and credit will be prohibited.
We are further tightening the net of sanctions responding to Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine
•Listing 160 individuals: oligarchs, Russian Federation Council members
•Belarus banking sector
•Export of maritime navigation technology to Russia
•Adding crypto-assets— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) March 9, 2022
As TheCoinRise reported in February, the EU announced that it would be banning numerous banks in Russia from the SWIFT cross-border payment network, but did not define how it would address crypto at the time. On March 14, the European Parliament’s Committee on Economics and Monetary Affairs will vote on a regulatory framework for digital currencies in the EU.
Crypto use in Russia is actively watched
Both the United States and the European Union have signaled that they will be looking into Russia’s use of digital currency to dodge sanctions that have been called “economic warfare” by some.
United States President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday requiring government agencies to coordinate and consolidate policy on a national framework for crypto, along with investigating the potential rollout of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) — the order noted the risks of trying to circumvent sanctions three times.
In response to the crisis in Ukraine, private corporations ranging from fast-food chain McDonald’s to major credit card corporations such as Visa and Mastercard have indicated that they will scale back or discontinue operations in Russia and Belarus. Crypto exchange giant Binance also said on Tuesday that it would no longer be able to accept payments from the two major credit cards in Russia as a result of the companies’ decision.