Russian authorities have blocked a number of sites related to cryptocurrency before the nation’s crypto regulation taking effect. A favorite exchange aggregator website is already blocked twice and has received a third note.

Russia Determined to Block Crypto Sites

Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) has blocked popular Russian cryptocurrency exchange tracking site Bestchange.ru for the next time. The platform informed its customers through Facebook on Wednesday:

Dear subscribers, our Bestchange.ru domain has again been blocked in the Russian Federation. Unfortunately, regional prosecutors continue to sue to block Bestchange and other sites for mentioning the bitcoin cryptocurrency.

Bestchange.ru further clarified that it was exploring how to unblock its domain name, but testing could take some time. The free site helps customers find the best offers on the internet, including the best rates for cryptocurrencies, electronic currency, and internet banking. The service, launched in 2007, isn’t limited to just cryptocurrency.

By bits.media, this is the next time Roskomnadzor has blocked Bestchange.ru. The first time was in 2017, which was canceled in 2018. The next time was in March last year when the Kuibyshevsky District Court of Omsk issued an order to block Bestchange.ru in addition to other cryptocurrency exchange sites. It was canceled in May of the same year. “According to a court judgment, bitcoin information was considered illegal, as it contradicted the Russian Federation’s national laws,” the publication noted.

The third time began when the Kotlas city court ordered the blocking of seven cryptocurrency sites in January. Roskomnadzor allegedly received the court decision on June 23 and promptly sent out notices regarding the blocking.

The book reported on June 24 that the owners of these websites bitok.shop, lavka-flowers.ru, cryptorussia.ru, prostocoin.com, cryptowikipedia.ru, bestchange.ru and coinpost.ru received notifications that they “distribute information prohibited in the Russian Federation” and will be included in Roskomnadzor’s registry of blocked sites.

Bestchange.ru didn’t shut down, however, since the administration decided to appeal the court decision. The court is expected to pass the case to a higher court on Aug. 27. Nonetheless, Roskomnadzor sent out another note on Aug. 26 concerning the blocking of the website.

According to the news outlet, Roskomnadzor’s action isn’t associated with the crypto regulation lately signed into law by President Vladimir Putin, which will enter into force on Jan.1. The new law gives legal standing to cryptocurrency but prohibits its use for payments of goods and services.