EU economy and finance ministers met on Wednesday to discuss Russian sanctions and the possible use of cryptocurrencies by Russia to sidestep them following its invasion of Ukraine, reports CoinTelegraph.
Cryptocurrencies have long been touted for their decentralized nature being a way to work around central banks and established financial institution, but this is one of the first major geopolitical conflicts to focus on the use of crypto assets as a way to bypass sanctions by a country and its institutions. French finance minister Bruno Le Maire spoke after the EU video conference, explaining that international lawmakers had already frozen a sizable portion of assets in Russia’s central bank.
Concerns around the use of cryptocurrencies by Russia had the 27 member states within the EU agreeing that extra measures needed to be taken to keep Russia from bypassing the sanctions enacted as punishment for its invasion and war on Ukraine.
“We are taking measures, in particular on cryptocurrencies or crypto assets, which should not be used to circumvent the financial sanctions,” said Le Maire. “We will be taking stock on a daily basis with regard to the implementation of these sanctions, their effectiveness and any additional measures which may be needed. When it comes to economic and financial sanctions, we want to remain flexible and mobilized.”
The German finance minister seconded the comments and added that individuals and institutions named specifically within the sanctions should be prevented from converting money into crypto assets. It’s a big step and has pushed forward the importance of creating regulatory frameworks for crypto by many countries, including within the EU itself as well as the U.S. The sanctioning and crackdown on cryptocurrencies from specific sources could help to prove to U.S. lawmakers that regulation can be done and that bad-faith players can be kept out of the mix when it comes to cryptocurrencies.
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