Banning Bitcoin is Like Banning the Internet, Says Russia’s Finance Minister

[TimeTeller]

The debates will likely be ended up positive and it favors Bitcoin adoption than banning it. I see no reason why Russia will close a deal over Bitcoin as they know, the Presidents knows what seems best for their citizen, it was the internet that gives life now and this Bitcoin gives more.

If they are into concern about economic improvement, the existence of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have more to add. We can see a lot of people change their lives after investing in Bitcoin and that could prove the value of Bitcoin today and in the future.

Indeed, they are now accepting Bitcoin. It certainly change their minds knowing the fact that Bitcoin is not a threat to the economy but it was a helping tool to grow instead. The people from Russia have been so hopeful to have this and seeing the support from the government will eventually boost their courage and go for adoption.

Just like many countries, Bitcoin somehow helps people's lives, giving them hope to improve their living, and Banning Bitcoin is really not a helpful decision but it only makes people hate the government.

Politicians sell themselves as idealist, however they are for the most part incredibly pragmatic, basically if something works against their interests they are going to be against it, and if it works in their favor then they will embrace it, with all the sanctions Russia is facing then they need an alternative and while without a doubt they did their homework and prepared themselves for the harsh economic sanctions they received, they are now seeing if they can use bitcoin for their benefit, so I am not surprised they are embracing it at all.

They will always find a way how to resolve their situation as their movement is getting limited because of the sanctions.
And going into crypto, is one alternative to move their funds, without much restrictions.
Before, we know, they have different stance towards crypto, now, they are changing their perspectives.
It is only a matter of time for other governments to recognize the benefits brought by crypto.
We welcome their regulations but total banning is seems to be futile as their people can still go around with it.

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[bitterguy28]

It is generally known that the Russian Central Bank’s stance is to ban crypto-assets, cryptocurrencies, arguing that they creates risks, primarily for citizens, and financial institutions, banks, and create an obscure settlement market.

But, Anton Siluanov (Russia’s Financial Minister) believes that banning cryptocurrencies is like banning the internet. He argued that although the risks the Central Bank is raising are understandable, but he once again reiterated that banning the sector is considerably worse than regulating it.
 
There are still debates on this issue and President Putin have encouraged the two financial bodies to find a solution to the deadlock.

https://cryptopotato.com/banning-bitcoin-is-like-banning-the-internet-says-russias-finance-minister/

How i would love Russia talking like this but not talking about war, they deserve to praise everything but not to invade any country.

if this words comes out from their mouth without any conflict in others? then this is really a helpful matter but now seeing them having sanctions here and there? i don't think this would bring any help in our crypto market.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

It is generally known that the Russian Central Bank’s stance is to ban crypto-assets, cryptocurrencies, arguing that they creates risks, primarily for citizens, and financial institutions, banks, and create an obscure settlement market.

But, Anton Siluanov (Russia’s Financial Minister) believes that banning cryptocurrencies is like banning the internet. He argued that although the risks the Central Bank is raising are understandable, but he once again reiterated that banning the sector is considerably worse than regulating it.
 
There are still debates on this issue and President Putin have encouraged the two financial bodies to find a solution to the deadlock.

https://cryptopotato.com/banning-bitcoin-is-like-banning-the-internet-says-russias-finance-minister/

I totally agree with the financial minister, banning bitcoin and cryptocurrency assets is truly like banning internet. Those who ban it are only shooting themselves on thier own foot, it's totally simple, Russians central bank are just beating about the bush, the truth remains that most central banks in the world fear that bitcoin and cryptocurrencies will put them out of business, so they devise all means, come up with bogus reasons to cajole the entire country into  believing their lies and banning crypto.
My question now is, what is more risky than the useless fiat paper money which has been loosing its value and robbing people off their wealth through inflation since its inception?

[kotajikikox]

It is generally known that the Russian Central Bank’s stance is to ban crypto-assets, cryptocurrencies, arguing that they creates risks, primarily for citizens, and financial institutions, banks, and create an obscure settlement market.

But, Anton Siluanov (Russia’s Financial Minister) believes that banning cryptocurrencies is like banning the internet. He argued that although the risks the Central Bank is raising are understandable, but he once again reiterated that banning the sector is considerably worse than regulating it.
 
There are still debates on this issue and President Putin have encouraged the two financial bodies to find a solution to the deadlock.

If that the Russia government and central bank went ahead to ban bitcoin, there wouldn’t be much that they would be able to do to affect the cryptocurrency market, the only thing that would is that they will cut off  the transactions between users banks and the cryptocurrency exchanges (the centralized exchanges, to be specific).

we have already witnessed so many cases that there is a banning issues but even in the countries that has strict regulation and totally banning bitcoin? still the currency is circulating using different tools from the people so ban? no way this will not be implemented completely .

Although that might have a little effect on the market for sometime, for the fact that a lot of people makes use of centralized exchanges as a way to make things easier for themselves when trading cryptocurrency, so they will be able to easily encash their money. But within a short time, a lot of people will switch to P2P.

that is the reality , that people will still seek on how to trade and circulate bitcoin , so those who wanted to do the banning? is just like trying to shoot the stars .

[virasog]

The debates will likely be ended up positive and it favors Bitcoin adoption than banning it. I see no reason why Russia will close a deal over Bitcoin as they know, the Presidents knows what seems best for their citizen, it was the internet that gives life now and this Bitcoin gives more.

If they are into concern about economic improvement, the existence of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have more to add. We can see a lot of people change their lives after investing in Bitcoin and that could prove the value of Bitcoin today and in the future.

Indeed, they are now accepting Bitcoin. It certainly change their minds knowing the fact that Bitcoin is not a threat to the economy but it was a helping tool to grow instead. The people from Russia have been so hopeful to have this and seeing the support from the government will eventually boost their courage and go for adoption.

Just like many countries, Bitcoin somehow helps people's lives, giving them hope to improve their living, and Banning Bitcoin is really not a helpful decision but it only makes people hate the government.

Politicians sell themselves as idealist, however they are for the most part incredibly pragmatic, basically if something works against their interests they are going to be against it, and if it works in their favor then they will embrace it, with all the sanctions Russia is facing then they need an alternative and while without a doubt they did their homework and prepared themselves for the harsh economic sanctions they received, they are now seeing if they can use bitcoin for their benefit, so I am not surprised they are embracing it at all.

No matter what is the stance on bitcoin for both Russian and Ukraine governments, one thing they must have realized by now is that bitcoin does not lose its value as much as the local fiat currency in war situations.
Both these governments have realized this by now and they may take steps to regulate the crypto in near future. People need to change their mindset about cryptocurrencies.

[rjekerdomin]

The Internet has brought us convenience, and so has cryptocurrencies. The internet is like cryptocurrencies, and no country can completely ban both. These leaders of the country want to control the masses completely. People are not free.

[Easteregg69]

It's coffee money. Just like PayPal. Visa and master. It goes nowhere without full appreciation in all instances.

Play money.

Forgot! What's the agenda?

[AicecreaME]

Contradictory information has been coming from Russia lately, because it is clear that the Central Bank and the minister have conflicting views. I hope that in the short term the Minister's vision will prevail, as he is the one who understands what this is all about. However, even if the Central Bank's vision were to prevail now, in the long term that vision cannot be sustained.

I cannot agree more. Way back, many countries and many attempts they have failed to ban the Internet. It kept prospering beyond their control which resulted for it to become well-known and used all around the world. Despite their tries to contain it, they didn't manage because that's how powerful Internet was and currently is. Just like how bitcoin is. No matter how hard they try to regulate and eliminate it, they won't be able to do it, since it has so many patronage and banning it would just cost them and not the other way around. Surely, people would keep on finding ways on how to utilize it if they would outrught ban it. And I really doubt they would because that could pose a loss for them as well. Maybe they could attempt to regulate it in accordance to law and their liking, but the way it would work, most particularly the dynamics would definitely won't be altered.

[YOSHIE]

As you know and what the Russian Minister said, I agree with what he said, it means this: the internet can't be touched, it's shapeless, but the internet can be enjoyed and used by many people.

Bitcoin has almost the same properties as the internet, the Russian minister is right, if you can touch the internet you can touch bitcoin, in fact you can't.

So, not a few countries or certain parties want to ban Bitcoin, in fact it's all in vain, they realize they can't do anything about Bitcoin, many countries are not illegal and not legal Bitcoin, let it run like time goes round and round, that's what many countries do.

[DU18]

Stopping the development of crypto in a country is certainly impossible, in my opinion, rather than banning or stopping crypto, it is certainly better for a country to regulate and implement clear regulations about crypto so that they can get the benefits, the development of an increasingly modern era of course makes people tend to think critically and want easy things in their lives, including ease of transactions and investments, and so far we have  seen if crypto  proven offers these two conveniences to its users, and obviously it will be difficult for a country to ban or shut down crypto which has been used illegally and legally in a country including Russia so far.

[Ozero]

The Internet has brought us convenience, and so has cryptocurrencies. The internet is like cryptocurrencies, and no country can completely ban both. These leaders of the country want to control the masses completely. People are not free.

The struggle for power and personal ambitious interests of Putin in Russia are above any logic and interests of the people. As we can see, after Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, when things there not only went wrong, but turned into a disaster, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram were turned off in Russia, and now, perhaps, the Internet will be completely turned off. For the sake of cryptocurrency, the Internet, of course, would not be turned off there. But for the sake of preserving the ruling regime, it turned out to be quite possible. In Russia, they are trying to hide the truth about the war in Ukraine from their people, they still do not believe that the Russians can bomb the cities of Ukraine, and even more so kill its civilians.
Putin is now going to great lengths to delay the indignation and anger of his people, not only with the results of the aggression against Ukraine, but also with the results of the international sanctions imposed. In Russia, they may not turn off the Internet only if the hidden information still breaks through and the shutdown itself turns out to be useless.

[Issa56]

He’s not wrong, these nations who decide to exclude themselves from the future of finance will regret it. They can’t really ban bitcoin, anybody who knows about Tor, VPN’s, P2P trading can work around it. They can only exclude themselves which is a big mistake.

I don't really know why most countries are just disturbing their self about banning bitcon, I don't think banning bitcon can be possible again, if any country ban bitcoin I believe the citizens will definitely use VPN to access different exchange because only the governments are against bitcoin and not the citizens.

[Questat]

That says one thing which is banning bitcoin is impossible because it's impossible to ban the internet.

As what we are witnessing now, particularly the war of two countries (Russia and Ukraine), we now see how useful bitcoin is because we can send donations to Ukraine to bitcoin instantly, and that would not be possible through fiat if payment centers are not operating. That's just one thing. If we try to analyze the current scenario, this tells us how a decentralized asset would be so useful when our economy struggles and our government is not functioning.

[Issa56]

I don't really know why most countries are just disturbing their self about banning bitcon, I don't think banning bitcon can be possible again, if any country ban bitcoin I believe the citizens will definitely use VPN to access different exchange because only the governments are against bitcoin and not the citizens.

That’s why when they ban bitcoin they must ban internet also since people will sure to finds ways to make transactions thru internet. Many can contact us even in different countries that makes easier to do transaction even bitcoin is ban. Everything comes with a price and they can pay someone toDo it for them.

I believe is high time the government stop disturbing their selfs about bitcon, I believe bitcon have come to stay and I don't think their is anything that can change that, they should should just adopt bitcoin because I don't think any country can ban their citizens from using bitcoin because they will definitely look for a way to transact it.

[Lanatsa]

I don't really know why most countries are just disturbing their self about banning bitcon, I don't think banning bitcon can be possible again, if any country ban bitcoin I believe the citizens will definitely use VPN to access different exchange because only the governments are against bitcoin and not the citizens.

That’s why when they ban bitcoin they must ban internet also since people will sure to finds ways to make transactions thru internet. Many can contact us even in different countries that makes easier to do transaction even bitcoin is ban. Everything comes with a price and they can pay someone toDo it for them.

I believe is high time the government stop disturbing their selfs about bitcon, I believe bitcon have come to stay and I don't think their is anything that can change that, they should should just adopt bitcoin because I don't think any country can ban their citizens from using bitcoin because they will definitely look for a way to transact it.

Time will come that they would just simple ignore it because they cant do anything about it.Pretty sure that they've been trying to look for ways on how to get rid of it because decentralization is always not that appealing

into their eyes considering that it do really opposes on what they do like thats why they do really have  this common negative stance towards it but some places or countries had no choice because they couldnt do anything
thats why its better to adopt or recognize it rather than on banning on it because it would really be that pointless on doing so they do only do the opposite instead.

[darewaller]

That says one thing which is banning bitcoin is impossible because it's impossible to ban the internet.

As what we are witnessing now, particularly the war of two countries (Russia and Ukraine), we now see how useful bitcoin is because we can send donations to Ukraine to bitcoin instantly, and that would not be possible through fiat if payment centers are not operating. That's just one thing. If we try to analyze the current scenario, this tells us how a decentralized asset would be so useful when our economy struggles and our government is not functioning.

It is also showing how the whole world could be connected together thanks to crypto so easily. People all around the world, from any nation could be donating to Ukraine right now. Instead of waiting for the nearby nations to help them, Ukraine could use this money to protect themselves.

This is a proof that regular traditional monetary system is slow and they need to make it a lot better, whereas crypto is miles ahead and they are definitely doing this a lot better. I do not know how people could see this as a bad thing, sure Russians could be using it to avoid sanctions but it is also used for Ukrainians to help save themselves at the same time, why not focus on that part?

[Gyfts]

"You can't ban the internet" is being repeated but you have to realize that the governments didn't abandon banning the internet because they couldn't. They abandoned it because they ended up having a very good level of control over it.

To grow bigger, Bitcoin and crypto market need to have more and better regulations. Having our own banks and financial freedom does not mean the crypto market and its ecosystem should be left as free space.

People must be protected by regulations, laws, etc. There are always pros and cons of regulations but I believe that in the world, we must have law and regulations in any industry. Fortunately, with Bitcoin, governments can not brutefore our own wallets. They can not free our wallets like what they can do very easily with bank accounts.

Wouldn't be the first time I've heard the sentiment of laws being crafted to protect the people. Bitcoin regulations are no exception. The precise verbiage of any one law doesn't matter - the goal is the same, to decrease the usage of crypto in hopes of people reverting back to normal currency. What starts out as innocuous regulations and laws, as you suggest, inevitably turns into an outright ban. It's difficult to recall when government has responsibly been given power that does not conclude in abuse. What exact regulations do you purpose for crypto currency that would make the sector better? Perhaps you have more faith in a competent governmental system, because I surely do not.

[cheezcarls]

And speaking of that though, the West is trying to disconnect and isolate Russia completely off the internet as some firms are already pulling out from the country. But for now, Russia has its own called RuNet. As they are feeling the wrath of the Western sanctions, BTC is their alternative to fund themselves. Although that it is a good alternative to counter these sanctions, but it’s not enough to rebuild their economy back to its old self.

[JohnBitCo]

And speaking of that though, the West is trying to disconnect and isolate Russia completely off the internet as some firms are already pulling out from the country. But for now, Russia has its own called RuNet. As they are feeling the wrath of the Western sanctions, BTC is their alternative to fund themselves. Although that it is a good alternative to counter these sanctions, but it’s not enough to rebuild their economy back to its old self.

Practically it is not possible to completely ban the Internet in Russia. There are some attempts to limit the internet access in Russia as there has been a lot of cyberattacks being conducted in Russia. Though all the steps taken by the Russians are temporary in lieu of the current circumstances and there is no plan to disconnect Russia from the outside world.
Russia’s denying that it’s about to cut itself off from the global internet, but it’s acting a lot like it.

[jostorres]

The Internet has brought us convenience, and so has cryptocurrencies. The internet is like cryptocurrencies, and no country can completely ban both. These leaders of the country want to control the masses completely. People are not free.

True. Convenience in a way that we can now communicate seamlessly but other than communication, the internet now allows people to buy stuffs or pay online. The idea of digital payments came because of it and so as the creation of cryptocurrencies later on because other digital currencies has their own restrictions and issues while cryptos don't have.

Crypto is said to be the money of the internet but you can't say that the internet is like a crypto because I think that internet is more centralized. It is possible for it to get banned or shutdown, like what is planning with Russia right now. Not all leaders are selfish but if they are then we can use a crypto to experience freedom somehow.