Eu Bans Crypto Services To Russia

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Eu Bans Crypto Services To Russia

EU Bans Crypto Services To Russia

European Union has further proceeded with sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and the latest is a ban on the cryptocurrency services. It is one step forward to filling the loopholes which might exist in the previous sanctions. Additionally, the bloc has imposed a ban on a couple of Russian banks and imports of coals from the country.

The EU Council released a statement saying the latest move prohibits deposits of cryptocurrencies in the crypto wallets. It is argued that cryptocurrency is being used by the Russians to evade sanctions. However, there is no concrete evidence to the allegation made by Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank.

However, the bloc had earlier mentioned that the crypto was included in the asset freezes of the Russians. The definition has just been extended to add virtual assets and other transferable securities have been banned.

About European Union

European Union is a bloc of 27 countries located mainly in Europe to establish a single market based on standardized laws. It generated about 18 percent of the global GDP in 2021 to $17.1 trillion. The total population of the zone is about 447 million, which is about 5.6 percent of the global population. Paris is the only megacity in it and the largest metropolitan area.

Equipped with 24 official languages including English, Dutch, French, German, Latvian, Irish, Spanish, Swedish, Slovak, Romanian and Portuguese, the bloc translates all the important documents into these languages. It follows a hybrid system of intergovernmental and supranational decision-making system and maintains seven main decision-making bodies.

About Russia Invasion of Ukraine

Russia's invasion of Ukraine started on February 24 following a military build-up from late last year. EU, the United States, the United Kingdom and several more countries opposed and took action. The Western allies imposed several sanctions on Russia including a ban on the imports of oil and gas from the country and the removal of several Russian banks from the international payment system SWIFT.

The ban on energy imports led to a crisis of oil and gas in the UK and most European countries. As an aftermath, the inflation is moving high. The food prices are increasing at a good pace.

Europe relies on Russian oil and gas to a great extent and if no alternative is found, the situation may deteriorate further. The war is ongoing amid a couple of failed peace talks between the two countries.

Meanwhile, both Russia and China have criticized the sanction step.

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