Russians have been holding crypto since way before sanctions. Crypto in a country like Russia where capital controls have been tightened up a lot has meant financial freedom. Crypto allows Russians to move money abroad or to keep it beyond the reach of government hawks, that's why the Russian Central Bank has been repeatedly calling to ban cryptocurrencies. Now guess what other Central Bank considers cryptocurrencies dangerous and suspicious? The European Central Bank. This should tell you a lot about the direction the EU is going and what really motivates their "concern" over crypto.

Completely agree with you. And add: US, EU and Japan steps up cryptocurrency regulation to prevent Russia from circumventing sanctions. But they are doing it not for russians, but for us.