Russian Authorities Ban LocalBitcoins, Contradicting Previous Statements
LocalBitcoins.com has been banned by the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of IT and Mass Communications, otherwise known as Roskomnadzor. After the ban went into effect, LocalBitcoins released a blog post explaining how to use the service through a VPN or the Tor browser. Russian Authorities Send Mixed Signals About Bitcoin. Authorities have sent....
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The decision to block LocalBitcoins was made on July 5th of 2016, albeit it did not go into effect until recently. The story of Bitcoin in Russia has taken yet another exciting turn. While the news is far from positive, there are so many conflicting reports in the country it is generating a lot of interest. While WebMoney will accept Bitcoin payments soon, using LocalBitcoins is now prohibited. One just never knows what will be next for Russian Bitcoin enthusiasts. Similarly to what happened to various Bitcoin news sites in Russia, LocalBitcoins is now inaccessible by Internet users. The....
It seems LocalBitcoins has become the new hot (and illegal) business in Russia. Just last week, the company saw record transactions when over 250 million rubles were exchanged for everybody’s favorite digital currency, equaling nearly $4 million in USD. Despite Russian regulators restricting access to the site back in September, the company is not only doing business, it appears to be thriving. Russia has certainly had an up-and-down relationship with digital currency over the last four years. From enforcing penalties upon those using it to saying it’s “not so bad,” Russia just can’t seem....
Regulation and security is a major issue that enterprising people in the Bitcoin economy have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. Localbitcoins, is a Finland-based marketplace for connecting people to buy and sell the currency. Recently, the site experienced an event that is an example where banking authorities have shown their authority with concern to Bitcoins. In a blog post, Localbitcoin's Andrei Zillo relayed the story of his company's Swiss bank account being frozen by authorities there because of a large Bitcoin transaction. A customer that Localbitcoins had done business with in....
Russia’s Administration for Telecom and Internet Roskomnadzor has blocked peer-to-peer local Bitcoin exchange LocalBitcoins. They have blacklisted the domain, and it is now inaccessible by Russian ISPs. However, Nikolaus Kangas, CEO of LocalBitcoins, thinks that this ban is only temporary and stays optimistic about the future of his company in Russia and Bitcoin in general. At the end of August, about 1.35 million users from 249 countries were registered at LocalBitcoins, where the weekly volume of transactions on the platform exceeded $14 million. It is possible to work around the block.....
Complying with the latest EU sanctions targeting Russia, well-known cryptocurrency platforms like Localbitcoins, Blockchain.com, and Crypto.com have started to restrict or terminate services for Russian accounts. The moves follow the adoption of new European penalties in response to Moscow’s military escalation in Ukraine. Major Crypto Platforms Conform to EU Measures, Restrict Services for Russian Users Over Ukraine War About a week after the European Union introduced another set of measures aimed at hurting Russia’s economy and finances, including its access to the crypto market, a....