The European Union has hit the Russian cryptocurrency harder than ever. Six Russian experts told BeInCrypto that the strike was real, but not fatal. They cannot agree on what comes next.
The new sanctions target 14 cryptocurrency platforms in other countries. It also struck 94 Russian banks and the Moscow Stock Exchange. For the first time, the European Union can ban any foreign cryptocurrency service that helps Russia evade the rules.
One group says the market will adjust
Anton Tkachev, a senior Russian lawmaker, has seen this before. He says sanctions are now normal. Companies just plan around them. Blocked sites are quickly replaced.
Refers to Garantex. Police seized control of the Russian stock exchange in early 2025. Within days, her team relaunched it under the name Greenex. and Counterfeit platforms continue to appear.
Beginners still feel it. Wallets are marked. Transfers abroad raise questions. Users must prove the source of their funds. But Tkachev describes this as an operational inconvenience, and nothing worse. He points to a “hardening effect” that makes Russian teams sharper.
Nadezhda Surova, a Russian digital economy consultant, agrees that the market is able to adapt. It says it “shows resilience in the face of sanctions pressures”, after adapting to 20 previous rounds.
After the European Union Previous sector-wide banYou expect trading to move elsewhere. This means decentralized applications, peer-to-peer transactions, and stablecoins.
It also flows to friendly countries. Kyrgyzstan is a good example. It had 126 licensed cryptocurrency companies and $4.2 billion in volume by late 2024, according to TRM.
Dmitry Zuev, crypto executive at NGE Farm, says it’s “too early to draw conclusions” this early. He believes the pain will hit cross-border payments the most. He adds that for ordinary companies, Russian companies New encryption law More important than these penalties.
The other group sees isolation
Maria Agranovskaya, a Russian cryptocurrency lawyer, is more concerned. It described this as the first major, direct hit on Russian cryptocurrencies. Its ruling is considered “critical, but not fatal” at this time. European Union First encryption penalty It came last year, on a coin backed by the ruble. This time it goes much further.
It says the new rules threaten platforms used by Russians in Kyrgyzstan, the United Arab Emirates and Georgia. The result, she warns, is isolation and the growth of a “gray” market. She quotes former Minister Andrei Nechaev, who believes that “the cryptocurrency market is closed within the Russian Federation.”
The pressure is already showing. One ruble-backed currency, A7A5, saw daily transfers collapse from more than $1.5 billion to about $500 million after the sanctions. elliptical Found. A major exchange, Uniswap, has banned the coin. Some traders even froze their accounts when their funds were tied to it.
Alexei Zyuzin, who heads a Russian cryptocurrency industry group, believes the market will split into two.
“Two circles are likely to form. The first is a legal domestic market under the control of the Russian regulator… The second is a cross-border segment, where high sanctions and technological risks will continue.”
He says the companies most at risk are those that rely on foreign payments.
The full list of targets has not yet emerged, says Nikolai Zagvozdkin, crypto leader at Russian media group RBC. However, he sees a clear signal. Europe is now treating cryptocurrencies as key to Russian trade. Exchanges will be more difficult to verify, with more freezes and rejections.
“Working with cryptocurrencies will become more expensive, slower, and somewhat less transparent.”
What will decide the damage
Everyone agrees on one thing. It all depends on who the EU actually targets. The full list is not yet public. Early stats put him near the 10 or 11 podium finishes. If the rules affect every service Russians use, the pain is widespread. If they stop at sanctioned banks and known evaders, the market adjusts. I’ve done this before, but within stricter limits.
this post Russian experts divided over new EU sanctions on cryptocurrencies: accommodation or isolation? appeared first on BeInCrypto.
