The new European Union sanctions against Russia, introduced in the wake of Russia’s recent missile strikes against civilian buildings in Ukraine, are also exacerbating the impact on crypto exchanges.
Previously, only wallets with assets of €10,001 or more were affected by the sanctions, but now all Russian wallets are affected.
This significantly tightens sanctions in the financial sector, as cryptocurrencies had become the surrogate currency for many Russians after US dollars, euros and other currencies, as well as SWIFT transfers, were approved.
Blockchain.com, one of the oldest and one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world with 80 million users, has now announced that Russians will be banned from using the exchange from October 27. Russian assets will then be frozen from the day itself.
Crypto.com, which has 50 million users and over $400 million in daily trading volume, has also banned Russians from using it.
⚡️Today, the Blockchain com cryptocurrency platform is no longer working with Russian users.
Users of the exchange began receiving reports that the site could no longer provide storage and reimbursement services due to new EU sanctions. All accounts will be blocked from the 28th. pic.twitter.com/Kn7TDlF9Os
— FLASH (@Flash_news_ua) October 14, 2022
All crypto exchanges operating in the EU must ban Russians
Under the new sanctions, the other crypto exchanges that are based in Europe or have a branch in the sphere of influence of the European Union must also ban Russians from using them.
This also includes Coinbase, Binance, Bitstamp and many other trading platforms.
This is the first decision of its kind to directly impact the international crypto industry as well.
Until now, Bitcoin was one of the few international mediums of exchange that the Russians could still use.