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EU creates crypto task force inside new sanctions office to target Russia

The EU is setting up a crypto task force within a new sanctions office to curb Russian use of digital assets, Bitcoin.com News reported.

The European Union is creating a dedicated crypto task force to stop Russia from using digital assets to get around sanctions, according to Bitcoin.com News. The task force will sit inside a new sanctions office set up at the EU's tenth high-level meeting on restrictive measures.

The office is meant to analyse how the EU applies sanctions against Russia and how Russia is adapting to avoid them. This account comes from a single outlet, Bitcoin.com News, which also cites the Kyiv Independent for part of the story.

What the new office is meant to do

Maria Luís Albuquerque, the Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union, said the meeting focused on turning sanctions into concrete results. She listed closing loopholes, tackling circumvention and ensuring consistent implementation across the EU.

Bitcoin.com News said the office will strengthen coordination between member states. It will cover several stages of the sanctions lifecycle: policy design, implementation, enforcement support and anti-circumvention work. The stated aim is to close the gaps that let Russia keep operating and to increase the impact of the measures on its economy.

Crypto networks in focus

The task force targets networks such as A7, which Bitcoin.com News said provided a digital ruble stablecoin to bypass restrictions. EU spokesperson Siobhan McGarry was quoted as saying crypto has been used to circumvent EU sanctions.

The outlet reported that the A7A5 stablecoin handled more than $100 billion in transactions before a sanctions action dismantled a US dollar-based exchange network. It said that action cut the token's usability and sharply reduced its operating volumes.

According to Bitcoin.com News, the EU has been especially active on crypto since July, when its 20th sanctions package targeted the whole Russian crypto ecosystem. The 21st package then introduced the option of banning entire crypto jurisdictions. Under that option, European exchanges would have to stop transactions with crypto services based in specific named countries.

Outside support and the US angle

The Kyiv Independent, as cited by Bitcoin.com News, said the task force is expected to work for 12 months. It is also expected to receive support from countries including Ukraine and the UK, which have already acted against Russian crypto networks.

Bitcoin.com News also pointed to US enforcement. It reported that the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network blacklisted the exchange MEXC for processing at least $16 billion in suspicious transactions between May 2021 and May 2026. It said those transactions were linked to sanctioned entities in Iran, North Korea and Russia. That claim was not corroborated by other outlets in the material reviewed.

The source did not say when the task force will start work or who will staff it. Its expected 12-month mandate and the practical use of the jurisdiction-ban option from the 21st package remain the main points to follow.

Sources

Written with AI assistance from the sources above and checked against them. Not investment advice.