Cryptocurrency Websites Blocked by Russian Authorities

August 31, 2020

Several websites related to cryptocurrency have been blocked by Russian authorities ahead of the taking effect of the country’s regulations. A widely held exchange aggregator website has already been intercepted twice and now receiving a third warning.

Crypto Sites to be blocked by Russia

A famous Russian cryptocurrency exchange monitoring website Bestchange.ru has been blocked by Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) for the third time. The website informed its users via Facebook last Wednesday:

The website further explains that they had been examining how to unblock its domain, but it may take several times. The free website helps users find the best proposals online; this includes the best rates for cryptocurrencies, electric money, and internet banking as well. Launched in 2007, the service is not just restricted to cryptocurrency.

According to reports, this is the third time that Roskomnadzor has blocked Bestchange.ru. Its first time being stopped was in 2017 and therefore was cancelled in 2018. The second time was in the previous year when Kuibyshevsky District Court of Omsk allotted an order to block Bestchange.ru along with more cryptocurrency exchange websites. It was voided in May of the same year. “According to a court ruling, information about bitcoin was considered prohibited, as it contradicted federal laws of the Russian Federation,” as reports say.

In January of this year, the Kotlas city court ordered the blocking of seven cryptocurrency websites. Roskomnadzor reportedly received the court decision on Jun 23 and sent out notices and sent notices about the blocking ahead of time.

It was reported on Jun 24, that the owners of the sites bestchange.ru, bitok. Shop, coinpost.ru, cryptorussia.ru, cryptowikipedia.ru, lavka-flowers.ru, and prostocoin.com has received notifications that they “distribute information prohibited in the Russian Federation” and they will be included in the registry of blocked address by Roskomnadzor. To add it all up, it has been previously reported that there are other six crypto websites and two new sites that were being blocked by Russian media watchdog.

However, as the management decided to appeal the court decision, Bestchange.ru did not shutdown. The court is probable to pass the case to an upper court on Aug 27. On the other hand, Roskomnadzor sent out another announcement on Aug 26 about the hindering of the site.

According to a news outlet, Roskomnadzor’s action is not linked to the crypto regulation lately signed into law by President Vladimir Putin that will enter in force on Jan 1 the following year. This new legal status was given to cryptocurrency but prohibited its use for expenses of goods and services.