Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, said on Tuesday that crypto-currencies are risky and are used for crime, Russia's central bank has declared it will block websites selling bitcoin and alts. This in heavy contrast to the tone of Russia a few months ago of legalizing crypto.
The head of the Central Bank of Russia declaring these currencies are "dubious" and investors need to be protected. "We cannot stand apart. We cannot direct easy access to such dubious instruments for retail investors," he said.
“The usage of crypto-currencies carries serious risks. I know the central bank’s position on that,” Putin said. “Crypto-currencies are issued by an unlimited number of anonymous bodies. Thus buyers of crypto-currencies could be involved in unlawful activities.”
Initially, Russian financial institutes treated any sort of money issued by non-state approved institutions as illegal, saying they could be used to launder money. Last month however, they changed course when the Finance Minister stated “There is no sense in banning them, there is a need to regulate them.”
For more reading on this topic: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-cenbank-bitcoin/russia-turns-cold-on-crypto-currencies-idUSKBN1CF0RF
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/a3kp58/russia-plans-to-block-cryptocurrency-exchanges-bitcoin
https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/russian-president-putin-praises-bashes-cryptocurrencies/
Of course we all hope that crypto-currencies will continue to be legal, sadly Russia does not agree. However, it does appear they have not made the possession or buying of them illegal. Just difficult.