Cryptocurrency exchange BTC-E is included in the register of banned sites

One of the world's largest platforms for exchanging bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies BTC-E is included in the register of banned sites and is blocked on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Two addresses of the exchange are entered in the register: http://btc-e.com and https://btc-e.com .

The site was blocked by a decision of the Primorsky District Court of St. Petersburg. The district prosecutor’s office on its website published an explanation of the court decision.

“The Prosecutor’s Office of the Primorsky District of St. Petersburg conducted a check on the fact of posting prohibited information materials on the Internet, during which it was revealed that the information on the telecommunication Internet was available for free access to an unlimited number of persons for prohibited information on the pages of btc-e.com, bitstamp sites. net, namely, these sites disseminate information about the "electronic currency" Bitcoin (Bitcoin), which is a virtual means of payment and accumulation (a text sequence consisting of from letters of the Latin alphabet and numbers).

The specified cryptocurrency is not provided with real value, does not contain information about its holders (all its use is anonymous). Bitcoin turnover is provided by organizations and entrepreneurs who accept cryptocurrency as a means of payment for the services provided or goods provided, or traders who exchange them for various currencies (rubles, US dollars, euros, etc.) on online exchanges. The absence of a controlling center in the cryptocurrency systems makes it impossible to appeal or cancel an unauthorized transaction, and the fact that the cryptocurrency is outside the legal field does not provide an opportunity to implement legal mechanisms to ensure the fulfillment of obligations by the parties to the transaction. So, if the payment is made, but the service or goods are not received, then there is no guarantee of return of such a payment.

Based on the results of the check, the district prosecutor’s office filed an application with the Primorsky District Court in accordance with Art. 45 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, on the recognition of information posted on the Internet on the websites btc-e.com, bitstamp.net information, the dissemination of which is prohibited in the Russian Federation.

By the decision of the Primorsky District Court dated 11.11.2015, the said application was satisfied, the information posted on the Internet on the pages of the websites btc-e.com, bitstamp.net was recognized as information the distribution of which is prohibited in the Russian Federation. ”

According to Roskomsvoboda, the BTC-E exchange is one of the five largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world and the largest of the Russian-speaking ones in terms of trading volume. It was founded in the summer of 2011. The daily turnover of the exchange at the end of February 2015 is about 10,000 BTC. Twice it was hacked, but returned the stolen money to customers.

The exchange administrators have already solved the blocking problem: they registered another domain name btc-e.nz .