The world aided Ukraine in its war against Russia by imposing sanctions on the Vladimir Putin-led country. The European Union aka EU decided to join an array of countries in financially handicapping the Russian government. In the midst of this, the French Finance Minister, like officials from other countries, expressed concerns about the use of cryptocurrency.
The EU, along with its 27 member states, decided to bar around seven Russian banks from using the SWIFT international payment system. Aside from that, the Union resolved to freeze all assets associated with the Russian central bank. The sanctions were imposed immediately, and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire confirmed their effectiveness. The entire world saw that the sanctions implemented by various governments were incredibly successful, and the Russian rouble perished as a result.
Cryptocurrency has long been a source of anxiety for government officials all over the world. While the Biden administration earlier expressed concern about Russians circumventing sanctions through cryptocurrency, the EU echoed this opinion. Le Maire even stated that the Union was taking precautions to avoid the situation. He continued,
“We are taking measures, in particular on cryptocurrencies or crypto assets which should not be used to circumvent the financial sanctions decided upon by the 27 EU countries.”
Crypto a bane or a boon?
While politicians continue to voice concern about Russians evading sanctions via cryptocurrency, New York had something different. The New York Department of Financial Services [NYDFS] aims to use a variety of blockchain analytics techniques to track the transactions of sanctioned Russians.
Additionally, Ukraine has been receiving millions of dollars of donations in crypto which seems to be helping the country on a large scale.
Ukraine is now a part of the EU
Ukraine, a war-torn country, has decided to petition the European Parliament for membership in the EU. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the European Union Parliament earlier this week, seeking to be “equal.”
As a result, in a historic moment, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola said,
“Ukraine is facing Russia with pride. All those standing up in Belarus, Georgia- it is worth it. For next-generation, for those in Ukraine and the world who believe in Europe and want to be free. We will provide much-needed weapons to Ukraine.“
Furthermore, the admission process of Ukraine into the EU was reportedly underway.