The new crypto sanctions imposed by the European Union are likely to spur the development of the country’s digital asset market, according to a Russian lawmaker. Anatoly Aksakov is the chairman of the Financial Market Committee in the Russian Parliament. He believes that Russians will be able to circumvent the restrictions. Major exchanges have informed Russian customers that trading is continuing.
Russians find ways to circumvent mounting European Crypto Sanctions. Duma member Insists
In response to Russia’s recent military conflict and annexed Ukrainian territory, the EU approved its eighth set of penalties. Russian access to cryptocurrency was also targeted as an instrument to bypass financial restrictions and to export wealth.
Council of the European Union banned the provision of any crypto account or wallet to Russian entities and residents. However, according to a high-ranking member of the Russian parliament quoted by the Tass news agency, the EU decision may actually stimulate the development of Russia’s digital financial asset (DFA) market.
Anatoly Aksakov is the head of Financial Market Committee in the State Duma. This lower Russian house houses of parliament expressed the opinion. He has been deeply involved in recent efforts to regulate the country’s crypto space, including the use of digital currencies in international settlements. Moscow authorities have been discussing this matter for more than a year. They are considering expanding the legal framework that currently only covers DFAs between an issuer and tokens.
This latest EU round of sanctions tightens restrictions that were previously in place. Earlier this year, as part of its fifth package of measures approved a little over a month after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, the 27-strong bloc limited only “high-value” crypto-asset services for Russians and Russian-registered organizations — those for digital holdings exceeding €10,000 in fiat value (approx. At the time it was worth $11,000, but less than $10,000 currently.
Huobi and Binance comment on EU Sanctions – No new restrictions for now
“Similar decisions have already been made before. Although they closed down the Russian official representatives of crypto-exchanges, de facto little has changed. There can also be an office in the virtual space, not at some address in Moscow,” Anatoly Aksakov further elaborated, insisting that Russians can easily bypass the sanctions.
While the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, partially complied with the EU’s earlier requirements, allowing only withdrawals in the case of Russian account balances exceeding €10,000, it has now told users it did not introduce new restrictions, Bits.media revealed in a report. Another major platform, Huobi, said it “continues to support the stable trading of Russian users.”
Of the top seven global crypto exchanges popular with Russians, which also include Bybit, Coinbase, FTX, Kraken, and Gate.io, none is a “European resident” for which the measures would be mandatory, the Russian crypto news outlet noted. Russian crypto experts like Sergey Mendeleev (CEO of Indefibank), doubt that many crypto companies will rush to implement EU resolution targeting Russian users, as it would result in loss of market position.
“Moreover, these restrictions stimulate the development of modern technologies. Next year will be the year of digital financial assets in Russia, you’ll see,” Aksakov promised. His comments come as deputies in the State Duma prepare to adopt a new law “On Digital Currency” designed to regulate decentralized crypto assets such as bitcoin and their employment in cross-border crypto payments between Russian companies and their foreign partners.
What do you think about the EU sanctions? Will they speed up Russia’s legalization of cryptocurrency? Comment below with your opinions.
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