Russian government recommends to ban Bitcoin

The Russian government recommends the regulators to consider the introduction of criminal charges for using and producing cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

The Russian Government held a meeting on the project of the bill. Consequently, the Ministry of Finance was appointed to develop the bill further and to present a reworked version to the Government by 5 October. Additionally, the Government approved of the law presented earlier by the Ministry of Finance that would authorise banning cryptocurrency producing websites before a court decision.

The Ministry of Finance and other institutions are recommended in collaboration with the Central Bank “to examine the question of the appropriateness of introducing criminal responsibility for emission of surrogate money, including cryptocurrencies, as well as for creation and distribution of the software for the emission, and for transactions using money surrogates,” said an unnamed source from the economics and finance division of the Russian Government.