Russian court plans to unblock 40 Bitcoin websites in the country

The City Court in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, annulled a regional court’s initial ruling to block 40 bitcoin websites in Russia.

In January last year, the Oktyabrsky District Court of St. Petersburg approved an application by the St. Petersburg Prosecutor’s Office to block 40 Bitcoin-related websites.

In early March last year, prosecutors in St. Petersburg filed a lawsuit seeking to ban websites such as Bestchange.ru and 24paybank.com because they spread information about digital currencies, which are not backed by any physical assets and do not provide information about holders.

The District Court therefore decided to grant the application:

Cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, are a currency substitute that has fueled the development of informal economic activities. Russian citizens and legal entities cannot use cryptocurrencies. The free flow of digital currency information means that cryptocurrencies are frequently used for criminal activities such as drug and arms sales and forgery of documents.

This week, the St. Petersburg City Court decided to annul the above-mentioned verdict after reviewing and analyzing the appeal documents. The court will set up a special department to handle this case.