Russia’s communications watchdog Roskomnadzor has blocked access to the country’s largest crypto aggregator platform.
Roskomnadzor, the Russian telecoms authority, has barred access to BestChange, one of the major crypto over-the-counter aggregators in Eastern Europe and Russia. As of press time, the regulator has not indicated why the website is on the list of blocked sites.
A spokesman for BestChange stated that the platform’s attorneys are “already working on unblocking [access to] the website,” but did not divulge the cause for the prohibition. BestChange, established in 2007, is one of the oldest and largest aggregators of cryptocurrency OTC platforms.
It was previously barred in 2017 by a St. Petersburg court, citing Bitcoin (btc1.02%).Bitcoin served. As a monetary substitute, and the blockchain’s irreversible transactions made enforcement challenging. That prohibition was removed in 2018. But in 2019, Roskomnadzor barred it again, only to lift it a few months later.
The restriction comes nearly six months after Russia passed a new legislation governing Bitcoin mining and cryptocurrency advertisements. The rule prohibits advertisements for digital assets and anything that facilitates. The movement of cryptocurrency, including services that allow users to transfer it over Russian infrastructure.
Yandex, Russia’s largest search engine, changed. Its ad policy to prohibit marketing for cryptocurrency exchanges, smart contracts, mining, ICOs. And wallet tracking services to prevent money laundering.
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