EU transaction ban on 14 crypto platforms takes effect August 23. HTX, EXMO, BitPapa among those blocked. Kraken freezes incoming transfers. Binance restricts wallets. Withdraw before deadline.
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If you hold an account with HTX, EXMO, BitPapa, Rapira or one of the other listed trading platforms, you have two days left. From Sunday, August 23, 2026, individuals and companies in the European Union may no longer conduct any business with these providers. The basis is the EU's 21st sanctions package against Russia, adopted by the Council on July 23.
The ban prohibits deposits, withdrawals, trading, and any transfer of funds or crypto assets to or from the listed platforms. It applies to EU nationals, residents, and companies incorporated in the bloc, regardless of where the platform is based. A German citizen with an account at a provider in Panama falls under the rule, the Council's regulation (EU) 2026/1848 states.
The package covers 14 crypto trading and service platforms. The legal service of Noerr notes that Annex XLV was extended by 17 entries, mostly crypto providers. The count depends on whether payment service providers listed in the same annex are included.
From August 23, the transaction ban applies to these 11 providers:
Their home states include Georgia, Panama, the United Arab Emirates, the Marshall Islands, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus. None holds authorization under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, which governs access to the European market.
Three of the 14 listings have been in force since August 13: A7 Nigeria, A7 Africa, and PilotFinance Ltd. Anyone still holding a balance with one of these three is already in the prohibited zone. A subsequent withdrawal is no longer readily permitted, even if the platform would technically offer it.
How the ban works in practice is shown by exchange help pages. Kraken has documented its handling publicly: outgoing transfers to a prohibited platform are rejected. Incoming transfers from a prohibited platform are blocked and frozen. The funds neither return to the sender nor are paid out to the recipient's wallet, for as long as sanctions law does not permit it. Kraken advises customers to obtain independent legal advice before any transaction with a prohibited platform.
On August 14, Binance announced it would prevent transactions with 11 crypto platforms from August 23, including HTX and EXMO. The exchange justified the step with recent regulatory developments. Anyone who sends funds through Binance to one of the affected addresses after the deadline, or receives funds from there, enters a compliance review that can lead to restrictions on the wallet, Binance said.
Alongside the individual listings, the package contains a new mechanism that reaches beyond the day. Article 5bc allows transaction bans to be imposed on crypto service providers established in certain third countries that, in the EU's assessment, systematically fail to prevent sanctions circumvention. The innovation is that the EU no longer has to list every provider individually. For investors, a platform's place of business becomes a risk factor that can change overnight with a Council decision. No application to any specific country is known yet.
Two days after the main deadline, a second rule takes hold. From August 25, Russian nationals and persons resident in Russia may no longer own or control crypto service providers in the EU, nor sit on their management bodies. The rule applies to all crypto asset services within the meaning of the EU crypto assets regulation. It is addressed to companies, but could affect customers if a provider has to restructure its ownership at short notice.
For the 11 providers listed from August 23, all usual routes remain open until Sunday. A withdrawal in crypto assets to a self-custodied address is the fastest route, settling within minutes. A euro withdrawal to a bank account often takes one to three banking days. August 23 is a Sunday and August 21 a Friday. A SEPA withdrawal initiated today may not credit until after the deadline.
For balances that remain on a listed platform after the deadline, there is no automatic release mechanism. The platform is not obliged to preserve the balance, and a European recipient may not accept it. An exemption is conceivable under sanctions law but must be applied for at the competent national authority, in Germany at the Deutsche Bundesbank or the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control. The official communication from the Council on the 21st sanctions package is available on the Council's website. Kraken's help section describes how a European trading venue implements the block and what happens to incoming transfers.
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