The bank said that crypto asset service providers (CASPs) must put policies and internal controls in place to enforce EU financial sanctions when processing crypto transfers, according to a Monday .
The central bank said that CASPs should strive to ensure adequate controls to identify customers and transactions linked to sanctioned entities.
Cryptocurrencies are increasingly being used by Iranian and Russian entities alike to avoid financial sanctions. The A7A5 stablecoin processed $110 billion in cumulative transactions between February 2025 and May 2026, despite being targeted by Western sanctions, according to blockchain security platform CertiK.
has also reportedly eased foreign currency controls to encourage businesses to use cryptocurrencies such as Tether’s USDt (USDT) and Bitcoin (BTC) to settle cross-border transactions through Iranian exchanges and circumvent sanctions.
On July 14, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said American authorities had directed a freeze of held in wallets linked to Iran’s central bank.
In June, blockchain analytics company TRM Labs in flows between crypto exchange CoinEx and sanctioned Iranian entities over more than seven years.
Related: US authorities freeze $344M in crypto linked to Iran