Bitcoin Banned In Russia, Said To Be Used In Money Laundering ‘Activities’

Are you living in Russia? Do you have a Bitcoin wallet or mining for Bitcoins? Even purchase stuff using the cryptocurrency? Well, now you are apparently breaking the law. The Central Bank of Russia ‘got upset’ and made it really clear that the official currency in Russia is the Ruble and Bitcoin has no place alongside it.

They apparently consider that the cryptocurrency is used mostly for money laundry and other criminal activity, therefore Bitcoin is now banned in the country. Also, it is considered to be a speculative currency and state that there is a great risk of value losses.

While this does not come as a surprise, since Bitcoin was designed not to be regulated as normal currency, it could be used by criminal organisations. Yet, nobody can expect for everyone to drop using Bitcoin overnight. Most probably, the Russian government will first target companies and organisations using it and then go down the ladder to the normal hard-working citizen.

However, more and more countries are thinking of making Bitcoin a regulated currency. For example, a federal judge from Texas has declared in August that Bitcoin is a currency and should be regulated just like the Euro or US Dollar.

Up until now, only China and Russia have banned the Bitcoin, having other countries such as Brasil regulating it and the rest just letting it be as it is for the moment. It is hard to globally accept a new currency, especially a cryptocurrency ‘just like that’. It needs time, and a lot of negotiations on top of all.

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