Guys, don`t push the panic button, there is official project info channels like twitter, facebook, and the price behaves quite stable in the current BTC situation. Fresh news are coming every week, but of course it would be better if developers shows us not only team photo but technological developments, to reassure the investors.

Bitcoin may be trading at an all-time high, but the reasons why have experts wondering.

Despite increased dialogue about the cryptocurrency's potential, and growing acknowledgment from the mainstream, there are some who believe now isn't the best time to buy the notoriously volatile asset. After all, in just weeks, bitcoin is likely to see not just a contentious split of its blockchain, but an adversarial one.

Looking for context on what could happen if bitcoin splits and one version tries to destroy the value of the other? As developers freely admit, you're unlikely to find it – it's a first.

"Bitcoin traders are some of the most irrational investors you'll come across," OpenBazaar developer Chris Pacia said in a Facebook post addressing the issue.

The brutal sentiment points to what has been the uptick in buying that appears to be taking place not just despite – but because of – the coming fork, now slated for November. In contrast to zealous investors, developers like Pacia are finding it hard to believe anyone would put big money into a protocol about to undergo a process even they're just beginning to understand.

Yet it seems, investors believe the momentum is warranted given the results of the last hard fork in August, which split the network in two, but did so in a way that fairly safely created a new asset called bitcoin cash.

Distributed to all bitcoin owners at the time of the fork, investors were suddenly given an equal amount of valuable cryptocurrency (bitcoin cash has held relatively steady around $300 per coin, but has traded for as much as $1,000). Far from a risky proposition, investors see that extra value as just created out of thin air and delivered to existing investors for free.

But while developers are aware the mechanisms and politics of the coming fork are different, investors seem to be planning for the same results.

Harry Yeh, managing partner at cryptocurrency investment firm Binary Financial, told CoinDesk:

   
And these investors aren't new to cryptocurrency (or to trading in general), they're well-established investors.

Ronnie Moas, the founder of Wall Street firm Standpoint Research, for example, echoed Yeh's belief, saying, "I don't see [investing in bitcoin as Segwit2x closes in] as risky – especially if you hold onto the spin-off [coins]."

Not the same

Is this merely a case of aggressive trading, or is it wishful thinking? Some would argue, that on this issue, the traditional finance guys are getting in over their heads.

For one, the bitcoin cash hard fork and the Segwit2x hard fork will be different in that the former's supporters were defined by their interest in creating a competing (and now seemingly complementary) cryptocurrency. With Segwit2x, the motivations aren't exactly that.

Still, traders counter, cryptocurrency just doesn't function like more established markets, meaning that in the high-risk world of experimental assets, more risk is still just risk.

"Historically, one would assume that if you have one token and it splits into two, your mindset would be that both tokens would be worthless," Yeh said. "But, traditional rules of economics and finance don't really apply in the cryptocurrency world."

Yeh points to last summer's ethereum hard fork, which led to a split and the creation of two competing assets as yet another sign forks have historically resulted in value creation.

While the price of ethereum and ethereum classic (the new coin) dropped initially after the split, ethereum's market value recovered quite nicely, currently hovering around $32 billion, while ethereum classic continues to hold value at just over $1 billion.

"History has shown that, any time there's been a hard fork, that people get more tokens – and those tokens become tradeable somewhere," Yeh said.

As a consequence, retail investors are betting that if they buy more bitcoin, another fork will drive prices higher, and that this will result in them holding a more diversified portfolio.

More about bitcoin

However, some investors say the rally could be less about diversification and more about going all in on bitcoin with the expectation of even more long-term gain.

According to Arthur Hayes, a former Citigroup trader who now heads a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, confidence is high that the existence of additional versions of the bitcoin protocol won't affect this long-term future. Further, with bitcoin holding steady, even though three of the world's largest exchanges in China closed down, there's confidence that nothing can quite derail its current trajectory.

As a result, investors aren't really worried about Segwit2x.

Yeh agreed with the bullish outlook on bitcoin broadly, saying he expects a run-up both before and after the hard fork.

He argued that ideological belief in bitcoin – even at its most uncertain, even at its lowest – is what will continue to push the price higher and new investors into the market.

Summing up that investor optimism, James Altucher, a former hedge fund manager, popular business blogger and bitcoin bull, told CoinDesk:

   
https://www.coindesk.com/logical-not-bitcoins-coming-fork-boosting-price/

Financial analyst Gary Shilling has called bitcoin a ‘black box’ and that he won’t be investing in the digital currency.

President of A. Gary Shilling & Company, Shilling claims that the digital currency is ‘too opaque and complicated for him to invest’ in.

In a video on Business Insider, Shilling said of bitcoin that:

   
He explained that it was while at a cocktail party when he met up with a West Coast friend who, Shilling claims, has made a lot of money from the currency, that he started asking about Satoshi Nakamoto. For Shilling it appears that a lack of knowing the exact identity of who was behind the idea that is bothering him.

He said:

   
Shilling is the latest bitcoin critic to emerge, joining his name to a growing list.

In September, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, took a shot at the cryptocurrency by calling it ‘a fraud.’ He later followed that up with fresh comments, claiming that it was ‘worth nothing.’

Taking a more neutral stance is James Gorman, CEO of Morgan Stanley. Following Dimon’s remarks, Gorman said that bitcoin was ‘more than just a fad.’ He believes that the concept is interesting because of the ‘privacy protections’ it provides people and what it ‘says to the central banking system.’

Additionally, at the end of last month, Christine Lagarde, the director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said that ‘it would not be wise to dismiss virtual currencies.’ Speaking at a conference in London, Lagarde she said that cryptocurrencies would give traditional government-issued currencies ‘a run for their money.’

    "In many ways, virtual currencies might just give existing currencies and monetary policy a run for their money. The best response by central bankers is to continue running effective monetary policy, while being open to fresh ideas and new demands, as economies evolve."

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/financial-analyst-gary-shilling-not-investing-bitcoin-calls-black-box/

Members of the Seoul Bitcoin Meetup have released a formal statement opposing November’s SegWit2x Bitcoin hard fork.

A copy of the open letter uploaded to Medium Thursday confirms the “staunch opposition” of the group, the largest in South Korea, with 1600 members.

“We are confident that BTC, the legacy chain, will not only survive this fork, but continue to flourish as the dominant Bitcoin network,” its introduction states.

“The purpose of this letter is simply to minimize the damage that gets done this November. We urge you, the signatories of the NYA, to reconsider and withdraw your support.”

The community is the latest part of the cryptocurrency ecosystem to adopt a formal stance on SegWit2x, which is causing increasing divisions among supporters and detractors.

The Meetup identifies four “main concerns” with the planned hard fork of Bitcoin, due to come into being Nov. 18.

Summarized, these are:

    “
- The manner in which the agreement was made goes against the very ethos of Bitcoin[;]
- Segwit2x incurs a large risk, but wastes most of the opportunities afforded by a properly planned and executed hard fork[;]
- The developers and supporters of Segwit2x have proceeded in a needlessly careless manner which compounds the risks involved[;]
- Replay protection is being handled in an unacceptably irresponsible manner.
   ”

“We will be advising our local community to avoid using the services of companies that support the NYA, and seek out alternatives instead,” the letter concludes.

The same day, major mining pool F2Pool stopped signalling SegWit2x in line with plans previously announced which would end the practice at its next server reboot.

The Meetup commended F2Pool for the move, along with four other industry players which have taken an opposing position on the fork.

https://www.cointelegraph.com/news/koreas-biggest-bitcoin-meetup-publicly-condemns-segwit2x

The price of bitcoin has finally surpassed the $5K territory after a few teases this past spring and summer. During the earlier hours of October 12, bitcoin’s market value spiked past the $5,000 range and has reached an all-time high of $5846 per BTC across popular global exchanges. Bitcoin’s pathway to $6K is within sight.

Bitcoin Blasts Past Major Resistance Moving Into Uncharted Price Territory

The price of bitcoin (BTC/XBT) has touched a high of $5,846 as it has continued to climb in value relentlessly all day. Presently, bitcoin trade volume is strong with $3.4B in daily trade volume and hasn’t let up since the bull run started. A few hours after the quick jump to around $5,200-5,300 today there was a small amount of profit-taking and sell off, but it didn’t last long. Bitcoin’s price soared between 10-11 pm EDT as buyers hammered away at bids to the $5,800 zone. The high was followed by a significant drop back down to the $5,550-5,600 territory, at press time the market value seems to be consolidating in this region.  


Japan takes the lion’s share of bitcoin trade volume.

The Japanese Yen is still leading the global trade volume race, capturing 57 percent of bitcoin’s fiat exchange volume at the time of writing. The USD and South Korean Won follow the lead, as Europe and China trail a just a touch behind the top three countries in trade volume. Right now the top five exchanges processing the most bitcoin volume include Bitfinex, Bithumb, Bitflyer, Bitstamp, and GDAX. As the price lifted both cryptocurrency exchanges and the bitcoin network itself was quite busy. Network congestion has increased a bit, and there is currently 30-50K unconfirmed transactions waiting in the mempool.


Bitstamp order book is moving at lightning speed on October 12, 2017, at 10:45 pm EDT. The price spiked from $5450 to $5846 in just over an hour chewing through orders.

Read more: https://news.bitcoin.com/markets-update-bitcoins-price-peaks-past-5800-across-global-exchanges/

Slovenia’s financial watchdog has issued a warning to retail investors in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin alongside a caution to ICO participants in the country.

The Financial Stability Board, a macro-prudential authority comprising of a number of supervisory authorities including Slovenia’s central bank, finance ministry and the securities and insurance regulators of the country, has warned citizens that cryptocurrencies like bitcoin remain unregulated in the country.

The central bank revealed that awareness and interest in cryptocurrencies from the public had grown “very much”, particularly in seeing decentralized currencies as store of value investments.

According to a statement reported by Reuters, the watchdog stated this week:

    "Investors in virtual currencies…have to take into consideration whether risks are in line with their personal preferences and investment goals."

The central bank also said the decentralized nature and the lack of an issuing authority with cryptocurrencies afford no consumer protection guarantees by the central bank or other state bodies.

The watchdog is also taking a similar stance to initial coin offerings (ICOs), a radical new form of fundraising wherein startups gain capital via cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum’s ether by selling their own crypto tokens to investors.

As such, ICOs are not regulated nor controlled in Slovenia and the FSB said participants should limit their investments “in the amount that would not leave them too exposed.”

The wait-and-see approach contrasts to the total hardline regulation against ICOs in China and Korea where ICOs are currently banned altogether. Elsewhere, countries and regions including Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia and the United States, among others, have all issued or are working toward guidelines that allow ICOs to participate in their societies.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/slovenia-warns-cryptocurrency-ico-risks/

On October 11 the cryptocurrency based multi-service provider, Blockchain, announced the company is now allowing access to Bitcoin Cash using the company’s wallet service.

The Cryptocurrency Wallet Provider Blockchain Adds Bitcoin Cash Support

Blockchain, the popular cryptocurrency wallet and block explorer service created in August 2011, has revealed users can now access Bitcoin Cash (BCH) through the firm’s wallet. The company who provides over 17.5M bitcoin wallets initially announced BCH support back in August. Blockchain said at the time it would be monitoring the BCH blockchain for a few weeks, and the startup’s previous statements also stated that it would only provide “limited access” to BCH funds. The London-based wallet provider now states:

        "We’re excited to share that, as of today, any user who had a bitcoin balance in their Blockchain wallet when the fork activated, will be able to access the same amount in BCH"

Non-Custodial Access to Bitcoin Cash

Blockchain also details users can “store, exchange, and send” BCH funds by switching their preferences in the wallet’s general settings tab. The company says in the future Blockchain may add expanded support for the decentralized currency. Blockchain just recently raised $40M from well-known investors, and CEO Peter Smith told news.Bitcoin.com about the company’s growth and plans for expansion. Alongside this, the wallet has also integrated the cryptocurrency ethereum and users can toggle between both of those cryptocurrencies as well. Blockchain details users can be confident they also maintain full non-custodial access to their Bitcoin Cash reserves.

“If you choose to continue to store your BCH, you’ll still retain full, exclusive access to these funds, which will always be accessible with your recovery phrase,” Blockchain adds.

https://news.bitcoin.com/users-can-store-and-exchange-bitcoin-cash-via-the-blockchain-wallet/

Of course as a Bitcoin early adopter, Trace owns huge portfolio of different cryptocurrencies, with a basis of bitcoin of course. He is very interested in such bullish scenario, but his financial forecast does not include bear scenario, government bans and other negative factors, which of course will took place in the next four month.  I would like it very much indeed, if he`s right.

"Is he paying you in bitcoins?"

The question directed by a court security guard to the legal counsel of New York resident Theo Chino yesterday, highlights a central issue long facing regulators considering the technology – is bitcoin a currency or commodity?

As the industry has found out, time and time again, that just depends.

But that answer isn't quite good enough in New York, where early rules were put in place for startups on the basis that money transmission laws applied. While most businesses have resigned themselves to the rules, getting practices in shape or else shipping out, Chino hasn't given up the fight.

Two years after initially filing court documents, Chino's lawyer argued in court yesterday that the so-called BitLicense regulations brought an early end to his client's career as a bitcoin entrepreneur, as many others have claimed.

On one side, Chino's legal counsel argued that the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) overstepped its mandate when it issued the BitLicense. On the other, the defendant's lawyer argued that Chino had no grounds for his complaint.

But rather than dismissing the underdog claim, Judge Carmen Victoria St. George issued what may be one of the more surprising statements in bitcoin's short legal history.

She concluded:

    "Court reserves decision."

Instead of formally weighing in on the case, Judge St. George set a future court date for the participants to reconvene on January 11, 2018.

But while that could seem like an irritating bureaucratic measure, Chino was all smiles at the day's conclusion. Not only does this mean his case gets to live another day, but the judge seemed, at times, swayed by his lawyer's arguments.

The plaintiff

For Chino and his legal counsel, the indecision can be seen as a small victory, one that will move their case ahead in court, and hopefully, provide relief for smaller businesses they argue have been hurt by the law.

Stepping back, the thrust of Chino's argument is and has been that as a "small business" owner, he did not have the resources to go through the notoriously expensive application process for the BitLicense. Not only does the application cost $5,000, but it has also resulted in applicants spending millions on legal fees.

So, back in 2015, Chino filed a complaint against NYDFS and ceased work on his business.

"From the moment the license was promulgated," Chino's counsel Pierre Ciric argued in court, "he knew the cost of compliance was prohibitive."

And there's evidence to back up the claim. To date, just a handful of BitLicenses have been granted, and many more companies remain stuck in application status.

Still, it was perhaps Chino's critiques based on bitcoin's legal classification that had the most impact. When asked by the judge if bitcoin was, in fact, a financial instrument, Ciric responded, "No, absolutely not."

Instead, he argued the cryptocurrency was a commodity, more closely aligned with the definition put forth in 2015 by the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission.

And Judge St. George seemed open to the argument.

The defense

On the other side, however, Jonathan Conley, who represented NYDFS, spent much of his time sidestepping this larger intellectual question.

Rather than addressing bitcoin's open-ended legal definition, Conley argued instead that Chino had no right to proceed with his claim due to the fact that he botched his BitLicense application, among other claims.

According to Conley, Chino filed his forms with multiple fields stating "not applicable" and "I will not disclose," before stopping the process altogether. Because of this Conley argued damages were only "speculative."

In this way, the remarks cut to the core of what could be another issue in the case – whether Chino is a suitable candidate to back his claims. But for now, that determination will be delayed.

Come January, it remains to be seen just how the judge will rule – and if more surprises are in store for what is perhaps the industry's most unlikely legal case.

https://www.coindesk.com/still-alive-ny-judge-delays-decision-fight-bitlicense/

Lithuana's central bank has become the latest financial institution of its kind of release new guidance for those seeking to organize an initial coin offering (ICO) in the country.

The four-page position note features two sections: one that largely reiterates a 2014 statement effectively banning banks and financial institutions from handling or otherwise working with cryptocurrencies, and another that hones in on the issue of ICOs. It comes on the heels of similar statements from other central banks regarding the legal ramifications of such offerings.

On the question of ICOs, or the sales of cryptographic tokens commonly used to bootstrap a new blockchain network, the central bank outlined a number of national laws that could apply – depending on the characteristics of the project and the function of the token itself.

Marius Jurgilas, one of the central bank's board members, said in a statement:

    
The central bank said that Lithuania's laws regarding securities, crowdfunding, collective investment schemes and the offering of financial services more broadly could impact the blockchain use case, per the text of the position note.

At the same time, the institution clarified that there is no specific piece of regulation regarding ICOs – a factor that both organizers and investors should bear in mind when moving ahead with any launch plans.

"It should be noted that, when deciding on the application and scope of specific legislation of the Republic of Lithuania for specific ICO, the conditions of the relevant ICO should be analysed and assessed," the document states.

https://www.coindesk.com/lithuanias-central-bank-publishes-new-ico-guidance/

Wow, RIPIO raised 31 mln without any bounty campaigns and translations (personally i didn`t hear about them). And that result was achieved on presale basis. How investors were informed about this project, paid advertisement or smth?

Отличная новость ребята, эфириум выходит на торги на стокгольмской фондовой бирже, если я правильно понял содержание новости, т.е. наверное, стоит ожидать повышения цены и притока новых инвесторов.

https://www.coindesk.com/ethereum-first-investment-product-opens-trading-nasdaq-exchange/

Guys, perfect news for Ethereum fans and holders. I think we should expect some price pump very soon. This is a very good sigh for investors to trust their money into ETH.

https://www.coindesk.com/ethereum-first-investment-product-opens-trading-nasdaq-exchange/

Interesting, Silvio Micali worked on project Algorand at least for 7 years. According to his background experience he is one of the most qualified distributed system`s specialist in the world since 90`s. More than possible, that he is the real Satoshi Nakamoto.

"According to Micali, recent tests show Algorand can process 2 MB blocks in 17 seconds, compared to Bitcoin, which produces a 1 MB block every 10 minutes."

So, maybe Bitcoin is just demo version of more powerful blockchain system, they let Genie`s out of the lamp to see how the world behave to it.

Fantastic financial forecast, it seems like Mike personally knows those  "heavy investors" which would like to invest into bitcoins, wondering that his confidence goes against Jamie Dimon`s and other bankers bitcoin position. That must be because of different ways of creating their assets.

The first draft of a bill to legalize all cryptocurrency transactions in Ukraine has been submitted to its Parliament. Initiated by a group of deputies, the bill proposes to define cryptocurrencies including bitcoin as legal properties which can be exchanged for goods and services.

Draft Law Submitted to Parliament

A bill has been drafted on the treatment of cryptocurrencies in Ukraine and was submitted to Parliament last week. It was initiated by a group of deputies in cooperation with the Ukrainian Blockchain Association, miners, and trading platforms, reported Ain.ua news outlet on Monday. The publication wrote:

        "The document is small and most likely will require further work. Nevertheless, it proposes legislative definitions for the main terms of this market, as well as some rules on which in Ukraine it will be possible to lawfully mine [cryptocurrencies]. The main thing [is that] cryptocurrency is not considered a means of payment, but a property, which can be changed to other goods or services."

The first part of the bill defines cryptocurrency, exchanges, transactions, blockchains, cryptocurrency owners and well as miners. However, the definition for initial coin offerings (ICOs) is not included, the publication noted.

Legalizing All Crypto Transactions

The draft law proposes for the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) to be the regulator of the cryptocurrency market in the country. Subsequently, the proposal calls for the central bank to develop an operating procedure for cryptocurrency exchanges, explained ITC.ua publication.

In addition, the bill proposes that cryptocurrency owners have the right to choose how to dispose of their cryptocurrencies, including exchanging them for other coins, for electronic money, for fiat, or for goods and services. The same rules would apply to cryptocurrencies as they do private properties and barter contracts, the news outlet elaborated, adding that:

        "The bill proposes to completely legalize all cryptocurrency transactions."

Meanwhile, the NBU has not come to its decision on how to regulate digital currencies. The head of projects and programs at the central bank’s open market department, Emal Bakhtar, said last week that Ukraine is looking at how other countries, including the European Union, deal with cryptocurrencies. He noted how different countries treat them differently, stating that “some forbid, some regulate, some do not regulate,” Newsone quoted him.

There are also many different classifications adopted by various regulators, from being goods to being investments or intangible assets, the publication added, and quoted him saying “some call them money, some a means of payment.” Recently, news.Bitcoin.com reported on NBU Deputy Governor, Oleg Churiy, explaining why the central bank have not come to a consensus regarding the regulation of cryptocurrencies.

https://news.bitcoin.com/ukraine-law-legalize-cryptocurrency-transactions/

The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss cryptocurrencies. It was attended by top regulators including the central bank governor, her deputy, and the finance minister. While Putin acknowledged the risks associated with cryptocurrencies, he stressed the importance to not “build up unnecessary barriers” for new technologies.

Putin’s Meeting

Russia’s president Vladimir Putin held a meeting “on the use of digital technology in finance and the implementation of innovative financial tools” on Tuesday, according to the Kremlin’s website. The meeting was attended by Presidential Aide Andrei Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Central Bank Deputy Governor Olga Skorobogatova and Qiwi CEO Sergei Solonin.



“Today, I propose addressing a topic that is relevant not only for our country, not only for Russia, but is probably becoming relevant also for the rest of the world,” Putin addressed his colleagues. “I am referring to introducing digital technology in the financial, banking sphere, and using innovative financial instruments.”

The head of state suggested that they discussed the use of cryptocurrencies, “taking into account all the various components of the problem,” Tass summarized.

Putin on Cryptocurrencies, Outlining Risks

Before the meeting started, the president of Russia gave a brief introduction on cryptocurrencies. “As is known, virtual currencies, also known as cryptocurrencies, are becoming or have already become very popular,” he began. “In certain countries, they are becoming or have already become legal tender, as well as an investment asset,” Putin continued, adding that:

        "I would like to draw your attention to the need to use the advantages that are offered by new technological solutions in the banking sphere."

He then pointed out some risks associated with using cryptocurrencies, stating that “the use of cryptocurrencies also carries serious risks. I know the central bank’s position; I have discussed this topic with the Governor on several occasions.” He elaborated:

        "First and foremost, this is an opportunity for laundering illegal gains, tax evasion and even financing of terrorism, not to mention the proliferation of scams to which ordinary people can fall victim. Cryptocurrencies are issued by an unrestricted circle of anonymous entities. Therefore, buyers of cryptocurrencies may be involved in illegal activity."

Furthermore, Putin emphasized the lack of security for cryptocurrencies. “If the system breaks down or, as it is trendy to say today, if there is a bubble, there will be no entity legally responsible for that. This is a serious matter that we should bear in mind when discussing this topic,” he described.

Do Not Create ‘Unnecessary Barriers’

After outlining the risks he associated with cryptocurrencies, Putin went on to emphasize the need for regulations.

Citing how many countries are already working on creating legislative framework for digital currencies, he asserted that “we need – based on international experience – to build a regulatory environment that will make it possible to codify relations in this sphere, reliably protect the interests of citizens, businesses, and the state and provide legal guarantees for using innovative financial instruments.” To that end, he emphasized:

        "It is important not to create unnecessary barriers, of course, but rather to provide essential conditions for advancing and upgrading the national financial system."

In June, Putin met with Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and briefly discussed the possibility of using Ethereum within the Russian government. The Russian President has been a proponent of new technologies. According to First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, Putin understands that hi-tech and the digital economy spur growth rates, adding that “it is not an overstatement to say that the president is passionately fond of it.”

https://news.bitcoin.com/putin-central-bank-unnecessary-barriers-cryptocurrencies/

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Bitcointalk username: ivanpoldark
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_____________
 Hi Sylon, signature participants should make 20 posts before Saturday inclusive?
 You are one of the best campaign managers, it`s always pleasure take part under your management.

Of course Mastercard will  dragg cryptocurrencies through the muck. Because their business was build on high transaction fees, and new e-currencies let us send money without any mediator. They are already on the outside, only government crypto ban can help them to withstand.

According to a Reuters report, Sergei Shvetsov – first deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has stated today that Russia will block access to websites belonging to exchanges and trading platforms offering cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.

The central bank official was speaking at a financial markets conference today when he pointed to the “dubious” nature of bitcoin – as an investment instrument for retail investors.

He stated:

    "We cannot stand apart. We cannot give direct and easy access to such dubious instruments for retail (investors)."

The central bank deputy governor’s comments are in contrast to those offered by Russia’s finance minister Anton Siluanov last month. Speaking at a financial forum in Moscow at the time, Siluanov called for the Russian government to accept the reality cryptocurrencies permeating into society. “There is no sense in banning them, there is a need to regulate them,” stated Russia’s finance minister less than a month ago.

However, according to the central banker, the blockade is to protect retail everyday investors from bitcoin’s volatility.

He said:

    "We think that for our citizens, for businesses the usage of such cryptocurrencies as an investment object carries unreasonably high risks."

Russia’s Bitcoin e-Bans

In early 2016, European bitcoin exchanges Bitstamp and BTC-e were blocked temporarily by Roskomnadzor,  Russia’s telecom regulator, effectively putting the domains in a blacklist shared by all Russian ISPs.

The telecom regulator has also blocked access to multiple bitcoin-related websites in 2015 in anticipation of a legislative ban on bitcoin that never came to pass. The blockade was soon overturned in a Russian court. In September 2016, the regulator blocked access to popular peer-to-peer bitcoin trading platform LocalBitcoins.

Shvetsov’s revelatory comments on the central bank’s stance on cryptocurrencies coincide with similar recent statements by Russia’s deputy finance minister Alexei Moiseev. In a televised interview in August, Moiseev compared cryptocurrency investments to that of a “high-risk” financial pyramid, ahead of regulations expected in 2018. Moisev also revealed that regulations could allow “only qualified investors to buy and sell [bitcoin]” in exchanges in the country.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/breaking-russia-will-block-bitcoin-exchange-websites-says-central-bank-official/