Russian Web Censor Tells Binance It's Been Blacklisted

Sep 25, 2020 at 11:20 UTCUpdated Sep 25, 2020 at 11:22 UTC.Russian internet censorship agency Roskomnadzor blacklisted Binance in June, but apparently only made the cryptocurrency exchange aware of its decision today.

Binance Russia director Gleb Kostarev notified followers on Facebook Friday that Roskomnadzor had added the exchange's domain to its list of prohibited websites.

The reason, according to Kostarev, was that Binance had been caught publishing information about how to buy and sell bitcoin, which is apparently an offense in Russia.

"Not sure if we should laugh or cry," he said.

While cryptocurrencies are officially recognized as taxable property in Russia, the Ministry of Finance has recently made moves to put crypto trading under harsh supervision.

Russian news agency RBK said a court had already approved Roskomnadzor's motion to block Binance on June 2."Issuance and usage of bitcoins are fully decentralized, and there is no way to regulate it by the government, which contradicts the current Russian law," the court decision reads.

In a Kafkaesque twist, Kostarev told CoinDesk that Binance wasn't notified about the court's decision or even aware of its existence until today.

Roskomnadzor also banned access to a bitcoin wallet, Metbea.

Kostarev said that Binance is looking into contesting the prohibition.