[2018-03-01] Court Strikes Down Ban on 40 Bitcoin Sites in Russia

[ivanpoldark]

Saint Petersburg City Court has struck down a ban on 40 bitcoin related websites offering information about cryptocurrencies and exchange services in Russia. The ban was imposed by a district court in May last year, following a request from the Prosecutor’s Office. It prohibited the “spreading of information” about bitcoin, as well as buying and selling cryptos.

Site Owners Win Important Battle

In what seems to be a small, but important victory for the Russian crypto community, the City Court of Saint Petersburg has struck down a ban that affected more than 40 websites related to bitcoin. It was imposed by a district court in May 2017, after a request from the Prosecutor’s Office in the Northern Capital of Russia. The measure effectively restricted access to the internet platforms and prevented the exchange services offered by some of them.

Following last year’s ban, the owners of the websites appealed the local judicial authorities’ decision in the second-largest Russian city. The Oktyabrsky District Court had stated that the spreading of information about bitcoin and the use of cryptocurrencies was illegal in the Russian Federation. Its decision was forwarded to the Russian telecommunications supervisory agency Roscomnadzor, which was supposed to blacklist the sites.

Read more: https://news.bitcoin.com/court-strikes-ban-40-bitcoin-sites-russia/

[gabbie2010]

The court ruling is a welcome development for bitcoin, some unscrupulous individuals in russia had capitalized on the decentralized feature of bitcoin to perpetuate criminal activities, but the court had vindicated those sites on free flow of information related to bitcoin and freedom to disseminate news about bitcoin.

[1Referee]

In what seems to be a small, but important victory for the Russian crypto community, the City Court of Saint Petersburg has struck down a ban that affected more than 40 websites related to bitcoin.

It is not small at all - in this case a victory for the Russian crypto cummunity means a victory for crypto in general, which fills me with great joy. It's all about the freedom that we deserve to have, but more and more start to lose, which is why I am definitely happy to read this. It frustrates me that we're living in a time where we are only allowed to obtain information about things that the authorithies don't mind us to know, all to keep people dumb and ignorant, and most importantly, a brainwashed baboon. Fighting for freedom is not a crime!

[Lieldoryn]

The court ruling is a welcome development for bitcoin, some unscrupulous individuals in russia had capitalized on the decentralized feature of bitcoin to perpetuate criminal activities, but the court had vindicated these sites on free flow of information related to bitcoin and freedom to disseminate news about bitcoin.

I do not see any positive result in these court decisions. The Russian authorities have not made a final decision on the ban of bitcoin. Each official may act at his / her own discretion. In Russia, this is a very common practice. The sites were closed and a year later they received positive court decisions. How many users of these sites will be back in a year? The question of course is rhetorical.

[darkangel11]

It's most likely connected to what Putin said about cryptocurrencies. That they can't be behind in technology and that includes blockchain. I think there are 2 clashing parties in the Russian government. It can be clearly seen in the opinions of some of their politicians, like this one:

The head of the Ministry of Economic Development, Maxim Oreshkin, compared Bitcoin quotations to the dynamics of the share value of the largest financial pyramid in the history of Russia

But, we know who the real power is. The opinion of some minister won't really matter when the president still has the last word

[richardsNY]

I do not see any positive result in these court decisions. The Russian authorities have not made a final decision on the ban of bitcoin. Each official may act at his / her own discretion. In Russia, this is a very common practice. The sites were closed and a year later they received positive court decisions. How many users of these sites will be back in a year? The question of course is rhetorical.

Bitcoin hasn't been banned in Russia, so stop with spreading nonsense. Russia however doesn't seem to be able to make up its mind when it comes to crypto in general. If we look back at all their announcements and plans throughout the years, then you can only conclude that they are playing a game, or that they are genuinely in doubt about what to do, where they don't end up doing anything because of the yet unknown consequences for themselves. I personally think it's a combination of both, and for that reason don't expect anything of importance to happen this year in Russia. I think eventually the regulations will play out in relatively in favor of crypto, but the only question is when they will actually pull the trigger....

[bbc.reporter]

It's most likely connected to what Putin said about cryptocurrencies. That they can't be behind in technology and that includes blockchain. I think there are 2 clashing parties in the Russian government. It can be clearly seen in the opinions of some of their politicians, like this one:

The head of the Ministry of Economic Development, Maxim Oreshkin, compared Bitcoin quotations to the dynamics of the share value of the largest financial pyramid in the history of Russia

But, we know who the real power is. The opinion of some minister won't really matter when the president still has the last word

If countries like Russia and China want to get some leverage versus America and Europe, then they should start using bitcoin for some of their main exports, like crude oil in the case of Russia.

Because best way to attack America and dominate them is by attacking their currency, the petrodollar. The only reason the US dollar is still the world's currency is because all crude oil trades are done in US dollars. Without that, it would slowly lose its dominance.