The European Union (EU) has placed new economic sanctions on Russia that include $120 billion U.S. worth of cryptocurrencies.
The EU is extending its transaction ban to 14 crypto-related service platforms based in Georgia, Panama, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Marshall Islands, and Belarus.
Chainalysis says that the European Union is targeting crypto firms that have processed nearly $120 billion U.S. in transactions that have helped Russia evade economic sanctions.
The EU has placed economic sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
The new sanctions that include crypto are reported to be the biggest economic penalties imposed on Russia in two years.
The new sanctions arrive days after Russia’s government passed legislation establishing the country’s first comprehensive laws regulating cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC).
The new law creates a legal framework for Russian crypto exchanges, depositories, as well as traders and investors.
The latest European sanctions also include a third-country ban on crypto asset services.
That sanctions tool enables the European Union to ban any transaction between an operator based in Europe and any crypto provider situated in Russia.
Alongside the crypto crackdown, the EU is freezing the assets of 94 banks and financial institutions in Russia.
Bitcoin is trading at $65,035 U.S. on July 24.
