Russian Courts Reportedly Overturn Ban on Digital Currency

Russian Bitcoin news site, Forklog.net, reports that the Sverdlovsk regional court has overturned a decision made last year by the of city council of  Nevyansk to ban any media references to digital currency like Bitcoin.

The decision was made earlier today in the second and last meeting held by the court on this subject. If true, Russian censorship of crypto-currency will have ended. This could be a huge victory for the country’s small but vocal bitcoin enthusiasts.

Ivan Tikhon, founder of BTCsec.com, one of the websites affected by the censorship, told Forklog.net he expected the ban to be lifted.

“I deem it illicit, and think the whole trial involved evident flaws. One should remember that cryptocurrencies are not banned in Russia for now, and no information concerning them cannot be considered an information forbidden for distribution within the Russian Federation. I believe they stand to win” – Ivan Tikhon, founder of BTCsec.com

Bitcoin Censorship

The overturned decision was originally from a court in the small and remote town of  Nevyansk, which stated cryptocurrency “contributes to the growth of the shadow economy and cannot be used by citizens and legal bodies on the territory of the Russian Federation.”

Actual enforcement of the ban didn’t come until January of this year when several .com and .ru websites containing content referring to digital currencies were blacklisted in Russia. This was confirmed by the appearance of these websites on the Russian government’s official list of blacklisted media, called The Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media.

Following the websites being unblocked, which is slated to happen in the coming days, Russians interested in digital currency will be able to accuess Russian made media about digital currency.

Tikhon, who had contiuned BTCsec.com under the new domain, Bits.media, said he thinks this is another sign that the treatment of Bitcoin businesses will improve in the country.

“Personally, I am very pleased with the result. I hope that the positive moves in the understanding of cryptocurrency technology will continue. It seems to me that if people will better understand what it is, the better will be their attitude. These technologies will be less afraid, but most [will] learn and use, where they can benefit people.” – Tikhon