EU’s 21st sanctions package will ban transactions on 11 Russian crypto platforms

The EU’s next sanctions package against Russia will include a transaction ban on 11 crypto platforms, according to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. For payment and crypto operators, the detail that matters is straightforward: the bloc is widening the net beyond banks and energy names and is also targeting crypto operators in third countries.

1. Kallas said the 21st sanctions package will cover more than 170 positions in total, making it the largest EU package in the past two years. The list will include banks, weapons manufacturers, oil traders, refineries, and crypto operators in third countries.
2. In a post on X, Kallas said the EU is also targeting companies that support Russia’s military-industrial complex. That matters for high-risk PSPs because the sanctions language is not limited to direct Russian entities; it reaches the surrounding payment and crypto infrastructure as well.
3. The package will include more than 30 companies involved in drone production, plus new export-control measures for 50 companies, including firms in China, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, the UAE, and India.
4. The measures also include new import restrictions on goods such as car parts, precious metals, and chemicals, along with a ban on imports worth more than €60 million. Kallas also said the cap on Russian oil prices will be temporarily frozen.
5. Separately, the Foreign Affairs Council is due next week to decide on restrictions against Russia’s “shadow fleet,” its military-industrial complex, human rights violators, and propagandists, according to Kallas.