Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic has indicated that the European Union has taken a decisive step to close loopholes in its sanctions regime against Russia. On April 23, 2026, the Council of the European Union approved its 20th package of measures, with the cryptocurrency-related provisions scheduled to take effect on May 24, 2026. Rather than simply adding more names to a blacklist, this round focuses on the underlying systems that have allowed sanctioned Russian entities to keep moving value through digital assets.
Blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic pointed out that at the center of the new rules is a blanket prohibition: EU individuals and companies can no longer engage in any transactions with crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) based in Russia.
This covers exchanges, custodians, transfer services, and even decentralized platforms that facilitate crypto trading or transfers. The same restriction now applies to Belarus-based CASPs.
In addition, three specific instruments are now off-limits: the ruble-backed stablecoin RUBx, Russia’s forthcoming central-bank digital ruble, and the Belarusian digital ruble.
EU entities are also barred from assisting in the development of these digital currencies.
The package further targets the off-chain infrastructure that supports on-chain activity.
Payment agents who settle Russian international trade through netting, set-off, or similar offsetting arrangements—where debts are cleared across mirror accounts without funds actually crossing borders—are now prohibited.
Four operators—Arneis, Asia Import Group, GPAgent, and Platejka—have been explicitly named, but the ban applies to the mechanism itself, signaling that more designations may follow.
This structural approach marks a clear evolution from earlier packages.
Previous efforts named individual platforms and tokens, such as the ruble-backed stablecoin A7A5 added in the 19th round.
Yet enforcement data showed that when one venue was shut down—such as Garantex after its USDT holdings were seized in March 2025—activity simply migrated to successors like Grinex.
The A7A5 token acted as a bridge, enabling seamless transfers between rubles and USDT while minimizing exposure to global banking rails.
By January 2026, A7A5 had processed over $100 billion in cumulative transactions, briefly becoming the world’s largest non-dollar stablecoin, with trading heavily concentrated on platforms including Grinex and the Kyrgyz exchange Meer.kg (also known as TengriCoin).
To break this cycle, the EU has activated its anti-circumvention authority for the first time, designating Kyrgyzstan as a high-risk jurisdiction for systematic sanctions evasion.
This designation opens the door to broader trade restrictions and directly lists Meer.kg as a venue facilitating A7A5 activity.
While the package includes 120 new individual designations, bans on additional banks, and further shadow-fleet vessels, its crypto provisions send a broader message to the industry.
Crypto businesses must now treat any Russian-established platform as inherently off-limits.
Traditional financial institutions, meanwhile, face indirect but significant compliance obligations. Banks with correspondent relationships in Central Asia, the Caucasus, or the Gulf should re-examine exposures.
Trade finance teams must scrutinize netting arrangements, and compliance functions need enhanced monitoring to detect indirect links to prohibited CASPs or settlement patterns.
Elliptic concluded that by moving beyond entity-by-entity listings, the EU aims to make evasion far more difficult. The 20th package signals that regulators now view the entire architecture—on-chain platforms, stablecoins, and off-chain netting—as a single interconnected system that must be dismantled together.