The EU seeks to ban cryptocurrency payments from Russia. It risks being a Manzonian cry
epa06403161 A golden symbolic Bitcoin is pictured in Duesseldorf, Germany, 22 December 2017. Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that has soared in value this year, plunged below 11,000 Dollars on 22 December, sinking by nearly half from a record high it hit less than a week needle. The cryptocurrency, which allows anonymous transactions unrestricted by global borders, is popular with tech heads, people suspicious of government and those seeking to launder money. EPA / SASCHA STEINBACH
A few days after the Russian Ministry of Finance announced its intention to allow any company in the country to accept bitcoin and cryptocurrencies for international trade without restrictions, the EU imposed a blanket ban on providing cryptocurrency services to Russians such as part of its eighth round of sanctions.
The new measure strengthens the restrictions in place since April.
"Existing bans on cryptocurrency assets have been tightened by banning all cryptocurrency wallets, accounts or custody services, regardless of the wallet amount (up to € 10,000 was previously allowed)," reads a press release published on the website of the European Commission.
The tightening of measures is intended as punishment for "Russia's continued escalation and illegal war against Ukraine", including the mobilization of additional troops and the issuance of nuclear threats.
Forbes Russia notes that after Visa and Mastercard left the Russian market earlier this year and some banks were disconnected from SWIFT, cryptocurrencies, particularly the USDT stablecoin, have become one of the most popular ways for Russians to move money abroad.
However, even with EU sanctions, decentralized exchanges will remain available to Russian users, who do not have a centralized intermediary between the seller and the buyer, and crypto assets are traded using smart contracts.
These exchanges cannot control transactions between their users and do not keep the funds and passwords of their cryptocurrency wallets.
“ In case of a ban, Russian traders can switch to cryptocurrency exchanges such as FTX, Huobi, Bybit. But if the site is interested in the European market, it will most likely have to choose: either to keep the public in Russia, or to support sanctions and have no problems in the European Union , ”says Sergey Mendeleev, CEO of InDeFi Smart Bank.
He advises investors not to hold large sums on centralized exchanges, especially if the account is verified with a Russian passport. In the end, the ban risks being as effective as a Manzonian cry.
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Article The EU seeks to ban cryptocurrency payments from Russia. It risks being a Manzonian cry comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-ue-cerca-di-mettere-al-bando-i-pagamenti-in-criptovalute-dalla-russia-rischia-di-essere-una-grida-manzoniana/ on Fri, 07 Oct 2022 17:03:07 +0000.