Putin takes a stand and quotes that, “Opportunities for laundering funds acquired through criminal activity, tax evasion, even terrorist financing, as well as the spread of fraud schemes.” After Putin blamed Bitcoin for a series of Russian criminal problems, the central bank echoed its remarks, calling the digital currency a pyramid scheme: “We have seen how Bitcoin has turned a payment unit into an asset, which is bought to get a high yield in a short period of time. This is the definition of a pyramid.” Of course, just one or two years ago, experts said that Bitcoin needed to be regulated because falling prices were causing investors to lose money. Now, it is the price increase that is a problem, apparently. Here’s the plan, ironically, last month, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said: “There is no point in banning digital coins, it is necessary to regulate them.” Less than a week ago, Siluanov was planning to include the topic of digital currency in the country’s financial literacy strategy. Similarly, at the end of August, the Cointelegraph reported that the Moscow Stock Exchange was considering the inclusion of Bitcoin-based derivatives and ETFs among its various offerings. Although today is the first time Putin has taken a direct stance against Bitcoin, the clouds are gathering on the horizon for some time. Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Moiseev recently called Bitcoin a pyramid scheme and announced its intention to allow only “qualified investors” over “ordinary people” to buy Bitcoin.
Consequences
The Cointelegraph reported earlier today that the Bank of Russia is trying to block all Bitcoin exchange houses in the country. Despite the largely negative news from Russia today, Bitcoin continues to grow towards $5,000. This occurs after a steep fall from $5,000 to $3,000 last month, and a quick recovery that almost brought the digital currency back to its all-time high. Last month, the market reacted first, then shrugged, prohibiting the ICO in China, the prohibition of exchange offices in China, the prohibition of ICO in South Korea and now the attempt by Russia to ban Bitcoin. For the market to remain optimistic, despite the volume of bad news, it demonstrates how powerful Bitcoin bull is. So, what do you think about this? Simply share your views and thoughts in the comment section below.
