Blanket crypto ban targets Russia rails but one chokepoint decides whether flows die or just relocate offshore

The European Commission’s 20th sanctions package proposes a comprehensive ban on all cryptocurrency transactions involving Russia, an escalation from targeting specific bad actors to attempting to sanitize the rails themselves.

The question is whether the EU can raise the cost of evasion sufficiently by controlling chokepoints: regulated exchanges, stablecoin issuers, and third-country financial intermediaries.

The proposal arrives at a moment when enforcement data already tells a clear story about…