France says Russia sanctions will also include measures on crypto currencies

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire welcomed on Wednesday the European Union's latest sanctions against Russia, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and added that these sanctions would also include measures on crypto currencies.

The European Union said earlier it was excluding seven Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system, but stopped short of including those handling energy payments, in the latest sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Russia's second-largest bank VTB, Bank Otrkitie, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Bank Rossiya, Sovcombank and VEB will each be given 10 days to wind-down their SWIFT operations, the EU said in its official journal.