Another batch of Russian online crypto exchanges in Russia face closure following a recent decision by a regional court. The information posted on their websites has been found to be illegal, meaning the country’s telecommunications watchdog can block access to their platforms.
Roskomnadzor May Take Down Blacklisted Crypto Exchanges
A number of websites providing options to exchange, cash out, and transfer cryptocurrency using various payment methods may be blocked by Russia’s telecom regulator, Roskomnadzor, if their operators don’t delete the illegal web pages. The threat to online crypto platforms stems from a court ruling recognizing their content as banned.
In early September, the Kushnarenkovsky District Court in Bashkortostan, a republic of the Russian Federation, confirmed that the information they are disseminating is banned under current law, Forklog reported. The register of banned Russian websites, maintained by the non-governmental organization Roskomsvoboda, lists 17 sites affected by the decision.
In its ruling, the regional court notes that in all these cases the platforms have allowed free access without requiring registration. “Any user can familiarize themselves with the content and copy the documents in electronic form. There are no restrictions on their transfer, copying and distribution,” the district court emphasized.
According to Digital Rights Center, a law firm hired by the operators of six of the crypto exchanges, the owners of the websites had not been summoned to court at all. arkis Darbinyan, managing partner at the company, explained that apparently the sites had been identified on the Bestchange.ru crypto exchange aggregator.
In recent years, websites featuring content related to bitcoin and crypto services have often been targeted with restrictive measures in Russia. Roskomnadzor blocked Bestchange.ru more than once but access to the popular site has been eventually restored. In March 2020, the agency added six crypto sites to its registry of banned internet sources, and in June this year, a Perm region court announced its decision to block several crypto trading websites.
Lawyers at Digital Rights Center are now preparing official complaints with the intention to seek the full cancellation of the court decision. “Apparently, prosecutors don’t want to accept the reality that the digital asset law has already been passed and the lawmaker has not followed the path of a complete cryptocurrency ban, but has only limited the possibilities of its use and its civil law turnover, ”Darbinian concluded.
