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Topic: Russian Law Would Send Bitcoin Users to Jail as Cybercriminals - page 2. (Read 4112 times)

newbie
Activity: 42
Merit: 0
1. Bitcoin is not banned in Russia yet. In Iceland yes, in Russia no.
2. There are no major Bitcoin exchanges in Russia that I know of.
3. There are many things governments forbid, from walking around naked to automatic weapons to printing your own money. Communism has nothing to do with it.
1.Bitcoin was banned in the past in Russia, it is second attempt of Russian government to ban it.
No, Bitcoin was never banned in Russia, you're mistaken. Officials publicly opined on legality of bitcoin, but no law was passed (and, as you seem to be implying, consequently revoked).

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2. There is BTC-e which if I am not mistaked Russian operated exchange - but recently I heard that they moved to Bulgaria because Russian environment is too unstable for cryptocurrencies.
BTC-e is not a Russian exchange. It's not an anywhere exchange, no one knows the identities of the operators. Clearly the people who started it were Russian speakers (or wanted to introduce another layer of opacity), but this doesn't make it a Russian exchange.

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3. Some things that are banned are plainly stupid and laws varies from place to place. There is nothing people can do about it.
Can't disagree with that, though don't have enough info on this particular instance to comment.
legendary
Activity: 1596
Merit: 1005
★Nitrogensports.eu★
1. Bitcoin is not banned in Russia yet. In Iceland yes, in Russia no.
2. There are no major Bitcoin exchanges in Russia that I know of.
3. There are many things governments forbid, from walking around naked to automatic weapons to printing your own money. Communism has nothing to do with it.
1.Bitcoin was banned in the past in Russia, it is second attempt of Russian government to ban it.
2. There is BTC-e which if I am not mistaked Russian operated exchange - but recently I heard that they moved to Bulgaria because Russian environment is too unstable for cryptocurrencies.
3. Some things that are banned are plainly stupid and laws varies from place to place. There is nothing people can do about it.
newbie
Activity: 42
Merit: 0
But the usage of bitcoin is anonymous , how will their government know that their particular citizen is adopting bitcoin and doing transactions and other payments with it? I don’t thisk that they will send to jail any of them.

The same way that people distributing child porn get owned. Only with BTC, it's much simpler.

1. If you are a brick & mortar store accepting bitcoin, you have to advertise the fact ("we accept BTC")
2. If you are a website, ditto.
3. What else uses port 8333 Huh Comically simple Smiley
4. Bitcoiners always talk about using bitcoin, they never stop because they simply can't. A bitcoiner will still be giving his "to the moon" pitch to the jackboots while getting V& Cool
hero member
Activity: 1204
Merit: 505
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-28/russian-law-would-send-bitcoin-users-to-jail-as-cybercriminals

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Russia is planning to punish users of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, saying anonymous, difficult to trace transactions help kidnappers and money launderers.

The Finance Ministry in Moscow plans to submit legislation next month that would punish those who use digital currencies with fines as high as 2.5 million rubles ($38,000) and jail sentences of up to seven years. As opponents criticize such regulations as futile in the face of the growing popularity of bitcoin, Russia joins countries including Bolivia, Iceland and Vietnam in taking steps to criminalize it.

“Bitcoin can be used to finance the shadow economy and crimes, and this risk we cannot allow in the Russia’s financial system, which we are striving to make transparent and healthy,” the press service of the central bank said in an e-mail.
But the usage of bitcoin is anonymous , how will their government know that their particular citizen is adopting bitcoin and doing transactions and other payments with it? I don’t thisk that they will send to jail any of them.
sr. member
Activity: 350
Merit: 250
Shit, did I leave the stove on?
I think even if YoBit move their servers to another country that still makes their service illegitimate in Russia because within the borders of the country the Russian jurisdiction doesn't permit the operation of any Bitcoin exchange. So unless the local citizens use a VPN service or other methods to circumvent this obstacle their IPs will probably be blocked by the government.
newbie
Activity: 42
Merit: 0
If i'm not mistaken, they could just move their servers to another country, therefore avoiding any legal issues. Their law isn't valid outside of land borders.
I'm sure that they can just transfer servers/host to a different country although the permissions and legal papers and stuff.. I don't how those work.

That's not how things work. Even if you move your servers to the moon (which, AFAIK, doesn't have any gun/drug/CP laws), you still wouldn't be able to (legally) sell guns/drugs/CP. You have to obey the laws of your home country, and, occasionally,laws of countries which can access your website. That's why Stamp banned Russian IPs/Russian users (old news, not sure if still banned), for instance.

why i never se people from icland,but why they ban bitcoin?

Because they don't like it & don't want it there. Contrary to popular belief, printing your own money is not a natural human right. No more than the right to run a ponzi or shit on sidewalks.

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i wont think people in russia care about this news

Some wouldn't, some would.
The ones who don't mind digging rotten potato from frozen tundra while being repeatedly secsed up the butt by burly zeks, for 7 years Shocked, wouldn't care, the rest would.
sr. member
Activity: 308
Merit: 250
The mind is everything. What you think you become.
I have taught BTC e exchange is based in Russia?
And i had beliefs that Russians are not under communism anymore, how come somebody can forbid something if folks wont to use it? (If it is not drug or similar).
This is technology piece of computer code, how this can be bad or forbidden, i'm confused completely.

1. Bitcoin is not banned in Russia yet. In Iceland yes, in Russia no.
2. There are no major Bitcoin exchanges in Russia that I know of.
3. There are many things governments forbid, from walking around naked to automatic weapons to printing your own money. Communism has nothing to do with it.
are you russian?its why i never se people from icland,but why they ban bitcoin?
i wont think people in russia care about this news,might they just care about bitcoin movement,its too late for goverment to make any rules related bitcoin,russia have big amount of civilian that use bitcoin.
legendary
Activity: 1232
Merit: 1029
Buh Bye Yobit. You have until may 24 to remove all your coins from the exchange or kiss them goodbye forever.  Kiss

I see that they have RU as option for language, but i didnt know that they were based in Russia - where did you find this info ?
Another exchange that could be affected by this is btc-e , but its not really known about location of that exchange either.
If i'm not mistaken, they could just move their servers to another country, therefore avoiding any legal issues. Their law isn't valid outside of land borders.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I've read replies in some threads of users stating that YoBit is based in Russia and one of the issues that occurred when the law about Russia banning bitcoins is that the possibility of YoBit shutting down. But I don't see any warnings or any announcements from YoBit that they're shutting down as I'm sure that they can just transfer servers/host to a different country although the permissions and legal papers and stuff.. I don't how those work.
legendary
Activity: 2604
Merit: 1036
I don't think this 'ban' on Bitcoin will stop the Russians from accessing and playing on online sports-betting and casino sites using Bitcoin. The majority of these websites require no personal identification being Bitcoin-based so a good VPN service is enough to get you playing. Now I don't know how people will proceed with cashing out and exchanging the coins back to local currency but I guess they will go to a neighboring country and exchange the coins back to euros or dollars there in safety perhaps.
legendary
Activity: 1176
Merit: 1016
Hmmm.  I wonder what kind of impact that might have in the online poker scene if it passed?  I mean, would that law be honored by its public....or would it be ignored?  I'm thinking that there's going to be boon in the online poker industry once the transition to bitcoin in that industry is complete....but preventing our neighbors in Russia from playing with bitcoin might slow down that process some because Russians comprise a large part of the player field.
hero member
Activity: 602
Merit: 500
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-28/russian-law-would-send-bitcoin-users-to-jail-as-cybercriminals

Quote
Russia is planning to punish users of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, saying anonymous, difficult to trace transactions help kidnappers and money launderers.

The Finance Ministry in Moscow plans to submit legislation next month that would punish those who use digital currencies with fines as high as 2.5 million rubles ($38,000) and jail sentences of up to seven years. As opponents criticize such regulations as futile in the face of the growing popularity of bitcoin, Russia joins countries including Bolivia, Iceland and Vietnam in taking steps to criminalize it.

“Bitcoin can be used to finance the shadow economy and crimes, and this risk we cannot allow in the Russia’s financial system, which we are striving to make transparent and healthy,” the press service of the central bank said in an e-mail.
should i believe this?i mean if this is really happen in russia,would people from russia in this forum gone?or exchange from russia also closed?
in other side i'm happy because some people mentioned russian is scammers,but i'm not sure with that.
newbie
Activity: 42
Merit: 0
I have taught BTC e exchange is based in Russia?
And i had beliefs that Russians are not under communism anymore, how come somebody can forbid something if folks wont to use it? (If it is not drug or similar).
This is technology piece of computer code, how this can be bad or forbidden, i'm confused completely.

1. Bitcoin is not banned in Russia yet. In Iceland yes, in Russia no.
2. There are no major Bitcoin exchanges in Russia that I know of.
3. There are many things governments forbid, from walking around naked to automatic weapons to printing your own money. Communism has nothing to do with it.
legendary
Activity: 1358
Merit: 1014
They know that once shit hits the fan people will start looking for alternatives, and Russia is one of the countries that hates alternatives to the state the most, so of course they will be adverse against bitcoin, and wait for Putin to start passing laws against citizens storing gold, then all the bitcoin doubters will learn that every smart person must own some bitcoins the harsh way.
full member
Activity: 163
Merit: 100
I have taught BTC e exchange is based in Russia?
And i had beliefs that Russians are not under communism anymore, how come somebody can forbid something if folks wont to use it? (If it is not drug or similar).
This is technology piece of computer code, how this can be bad or forbidden, i'm confused completely.
newbie
Activity: 42
Merit: 0
No wonder! Russia has a fascist government and they simply don't allow people to have free money.
To be fair, Bitcoin is still not banned in Russia. Not like it is in Fascist Iceland, which is a part of EU.
If it is not banned there then what do you call it when they say if you are caught using it you will be arrested/ put in jail?

http://www.coindesk.com/information/is-bitcoin-legal/
My sincere condolence to all the russian Icelandic bitcoin users.
hero member
Activity: 756
Merit: 501
No wonder! Russia has a fascist government and they simply don't allow people to have free money.
To be fair, Bitcoin is still not banned in Russia. Not like it is in Fascist Iceland, which is a part of EU.
If it is not banned there then what do you call it when they say if you are caught using it you will be arrested/ put in jail?
newbie
Activity: 42
Merit: 0
No wonder! Russia has a fascist government and they simply don't allow people to have free money.
To be fair, Bitcoin is still not banned in Russia. Not like it is in Fascist Iceland, which is a part of EU.
legendary
Activity: 3080
Merit: 1500
No wonder! Russia has a fascist government and they simply don't allow people to have free money. They simply believe that power should belong only to government. Thank God they are not a part of EU.

My sincere condolence to all the russian bitcoin users.
newbie
Activity: 56
Merit: 0
...
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1) It allows micropayments without visa, mastercard commission (roughly 0.35 usd +3%)

Bitcoin does not allow micropayments, it's already the leat efficient micropayment channel. what kind of a micropayment channel charges five cents to send a penny shaving? What kind of a micropayment channel can handle *3 TRANSACTIONS PER SECOND, MAXIMUM SUSTAINED"?
Right now Bitcoin handles 5 per second and it will scale just like the internet scaled from 56kb modems at home to 100MB modems, remember? When we had 56kb, there was no youtube and 100MB would be an excess. Same goes here, when we will need 100 transactions per second, then there will be 100 per second.

Ok lets compare visa payments micro and macro (i don't see any positive sides for visa):

Visa:     0.5 USD + 0.35 + 0.01 = 0.86
Bitcoin: 0.5 USD + 0.03 = 0.53

The positive side of Visa is that it *could* handle nontrivial number of micropayments, while Bitcoin couldn't.
Being able to do a job vs. not being able to do it is considered a plus IRL Smiley

3tps sustained (or 5, or 7 peak, won't quibble) is simply not enough. This is what Bitcoin is capable of now. Not a question of modem speeds, simply how many transactions could be reliably included in a 1MB block. Saying "when we will need 100 transactions per second, then there will be 100 per second" is ridiculous -- that's what the whole scaling/blocksize debate is about, the thing that made Mike Hearn, Bitcoin's ex-lead programmer, say that Bitcoin is a failed experiment & quit Sad

There are currently two lines of thought re. scaling: Classic and Core.

Classic team is proposing a temporary fix: double the blocksize limit now, doubling the number of transactions currently possible. This would work, but has (justifiably) been called "kicking the can down the road" -- 7 (or 14) transactions per second is still laughably small for a serious payment channel.
For perspective:
"In 2010, Visa was handling on average around 2,000 transactions a second, with a daily peak rate of 5,000 transactions a second. During busiest season of the year it peaked to 11,000 transactions a second (Dec 23)1. In 2010 they had burst capacity of 24,000 transaction per second with no degradation of transaction quality."
And, of course, scaling Visa is trivial -- add moar data centers. Sad

Core team feels that Bitcoin couldn't (and shouldn't) scale. Instead, they're banking on another network -- the Lightning Network, being built *on top* of Bitcoin.
Then, people could start transacting on Lightning Network, relegating Bitcoin to being a settlement layer.

Of course, this is a clumsy solution for many reasons, not the least of which is this: Lightning works like a gift card, not cash.

Before Alice can buy a cup of coffee from Bob via Lightning, Alice must decide how many cups she is likely to buy from Bob in the foreseeable future, and pay for those all those cups. Like buying a gift card. Alice would have to  create such payment channels buy such gift cards from every person or business she pays via the Lightning Network.
TL;DR: While a credit card lends you a sum of money (for free) to buy stuff & sends you a bill at the end of the month, Lightning will make you pay that bill in advance, *before* you could spend a penny of it. No thanks.

But you're right, this is getting way off topic & too many tangents. If you feel like moving this to some other thread, PM me and I'll follow Smiley

Edit re. 40%: Sorry, my mistake, it's "Europol said that, according to its data, bitcoin accounts for as much as 40% of criminal-to-criminal payments online" http://www.coindesk.com/europol-bitcoin-european-cybercriminals/
Still, quite a slice, considering the number of BTC transactions vs. ...oh, PayPal transactions (which account for only 25%) Cheesy
legendary
Activity: 3430
Merit: 3071
Blame the government ministers signing this off IMO, not the whole country. I'd love to visit Russia one day, not too sure about that when I hear these kind of stories, but it's probably just the typical sort of political Wrestlemania that's beginning to be seen more overtly in the Western world.
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