While the Russian government and the central bank are preparing to regulate cryptocurrencies and ICOs — with a draft bill expected to be ready by mid-2018 — the authorities have taken steps to limit cryptocurrency trading in the country.
Thus yesterday Roskomnadzor, the Internet and telecom regulator, announced that it has blocked access to 13 websites “trading cryptocurrencies or spreading information about it,” based on court decisions. Access to another 11 sites has been maintained after these sites deleted the content which was deemed illegal by Russian courts, reports RNS.
The central bank will request to ban additional websites trading cryptocurrencies, as stated recently by the bank’s first deputy chairman Sergei Shvetsov, who believes that bitcoin “has the characteristics of a financial pyramid.”
Over the past few weeks Russian officials repeatedly reminded that cryptocurrencies cannot be used for settlements in the country.
“Anonymous payment systems and cryptocurrencies, including the most famous one, bitcoin, have gained some traction, but they are a money substitute that cannot be used for transactions — neither by individuals nor by legal entities” stated the Prosecutor’s General Office.
“The ruble is the official currency of the Russian Federation. It is forbidden to introduce other currencies or issue money substitutes on Russian territory,” the Prosecutor’s General Office insisted, drawing attention to “a high risk of losses of cryptocurrency holders, i.e. citizens and organizations whose rights may be violated.”
“No trust” or “no interest”?
Speaking on TV channel Russia 1 just days before, Russia’s finance minister Anton Siluanov stated that bitcoin will “never” replace ruble for internal settlements.
“There’s no trust in cryptocurrencies. This is an instrument for professional players, those who understand how such currencies may fall or rise,” the minister stressed.
On a quieter note, Riccardo Orcel, head of Russian bank VTB International, told CNBC in late October that Russia’s appetite for bitcoin has been overblown by the media.
“There was some interest reported in the press but I’ve not seen in Russia a lot of interest in bitcoin, to be honest (…) There was [also] some speculation that there was some buying coming from Russian investors, but more than these reports, as a bank, we have not seen much in terms of flows,” Orcel said.
