Russia adds Binance to blacklisted websites

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Binance has been blacklisted in Russia. Roskomnadzor, Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, added Binance to the list of blacklisted websites on June 2 and informed Binance that they had been blacklisted on September 24.

According to Roskomnadzor, Binance was blacklisted because its site contains information that has been prohibited from distribution in Russia. Gleb Kostarev, the director of Binance Russia, says it is because the Binance website includes information about the purchase and sale of BTC.

However, even though they have been blacklisted, Binance says that they will continue to provide services to Russian users in full and have consulted with specialists in the field of jurisprudence for more clarity on the issue.

But isn’t digital currency legal in Russia?

In early August, Vladimir Putin signed a bill that legally recognized digital assets as legitimate in Russia but prohibited Russian citizens from buying goods and services with digital currency.

But when it comes to the Roskomnadzor blacklisting websites, Roman Yankovsky, a member of the Commission for the Legal Support of the Digital Economy of the Moscow Branch of the Russian Lawyers’ Association, said that the prosecutor’s office usually refers to paragraph 6 of Art. 10 of the law. The law states, “It is prohibited to disseminate information … for the dissemination of which provides for criminal or administrative liability.” 

Although it is not clear how this relates to digital currency, Yankovsky says, “This does not stop the prosecutor’s office, which is filing claims for blocking – in addition to cryptocurrency sites, sites are blocked on dozens of similar unobvious topics. The decisions are almost always applied in favor of the prosecutor’s office. Since 2016, the prosecutor’s office has announced blocking requirements against at least a hundred sites that published information on the sale of crypto-assets.”

Not their first blacklist

Regardless of whether or not there is merit to the Roskomnadzor blacklisting Binance, this is not the first time the platform has been added to a country’s blacklist. In July, Malaysia added Binance to its list of unauthorized websites, investment products, companies, and individuals.