Summary
The EU’s 21st Russia sanctions package introduces a transaction ban on 14 crypto-related service platforms across six jurisdictions: Georgia, Panama, the UAE, the Marshall Islands, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus.
The EU has introduced a first-of-its-kind mechanism enabling full third-country bans on crypto-asset services, allowing it to prohibit transactions between EU entities and any crypto provider in a country that hosts services used by Russia to circumvent sanctions.
The package also extends existing prohibitions on Russian ownership of EU-registered crypto-asset wallets, accounts, or custody services to any other type of crypto-asset service.
On July 23, 2026, the European Union adopted its 21st sanctions package against Russia, marking the largest round of listings in four years with 218 designations. The package takes direct aim at Russia’s financial infrastructure, targeting over 100 banks and crypto operators that have enabled Moscow to sustain its war economy, despite years of Western sanctions. Additionally, the package introduces a legal mechanism that could ban crypto services from entire jurisdictions.While the EU created a new legal basis for third-country-level restrictions on crypto-asset services, that mechanism has not yet been used.14 crypto platforms designated for enabling sanctions evasionThe EU extended its transaction ban to 14 crypto-related service platforms operating in six jurisdictions: Georgia, Panama, the United Arab Emirates, the Marshall Islands, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus. The list includes the following crypto-asset entities:
