The Supreme Court Of Russia Issues Ruling For A Review Of Ban Against A Bitcoin Website

Russia has been known to be over the fence about Bitcoin for quite some time now but a recent ruling by the country’s Supreme Court may signal that it is warming up to the cryptocurrency market.

The optimism comes after a recent ruling by the Supreme Court of Russia ordering the St. Petersburg City Court to carry out a review of an appeal against a previous ruling blocking Bitcoin website. The Website called bitcoininfo.ru, had been blocked after a ruling by the Vyborgsky District Court of St. Petersburg in 2016 in a case arguing that the website had been spreading information that undermined Russia’s legal currency, the Ruble.

The founders of the website launched the petition saying that they were not invited into the first trial and only came to find out about the court ruling ordering the website to be blocked after access to the site was already denied. They have also claimed that the move was unfair since they were not aware of the court’s decision to institute the ban.

The website had also tried to appeal the court’s decision even though they had already missed their window for an appeal, and the court turned down their request for an appeal. Fortunately, the Supreme Court has intervened in the matter and issued the order for the St. Petersburg City Court to carry out a review of the initial ruling. This marks a win for the Bitcoin.info website and many other websites that have been affected by harsh rulings against cryptocurrencies in the past.

The Oktyabrsky District Court of St. Petersburg made the decision to start blocking cryptocurrency-related websites that post content promoting Bitcoin in May last year. It also adds to the fact that there have been a lot of controversy pertaining cryptocurrency regulations in the past and not just in Russia but also in other countries. However, city’s officer of the prosecutor has been pushing for the court’s decision to be reversed.

The court defended its decision saying that the free distribution of cryptocurrency has provided opportunities for illegal activities such as the sale of drugs, weapons and other criminal activities to thrive. The fact that cryptocurrencies are decentralized and lack regulation further fueled the court’s decision on the matter. However, despite the aggressive stand against cryptocurrencies, there has been a certain degree of acceptance. Blockchain technology has also been gaining momentum in Russia.