When western nations impose sanctions on Russia, they will get kicked out of the swift network. Banning bitcoin would be counter intuitive since it makes a better alternative than swift. To the finance minister - - Use your brains!

wait three days. this is how bitcoin changes laws. governments are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

Are they going to fine RT.COM for allowing Max Keiser to promote bitcoin?

He is doing his show from London// so I think "they" will not :)

LOL) I will be funny at least) Wonder, what he'll say about it...

Russia has just changed its media ownership laws so that foreigners can only own 20% of a TV network instead of 50%. So yes, RT will have to follow this law if it is passed, and Keiser and RT will be fined if they continue to promote Bitcoin. RT is unique amongst the big news networks in the way it treats bitcoin: promoting it alongside gold and oil as if it were a primary commodity of the same order.

If Russia hates it, you know it's a good thing.

22 thumbs up on this broad racist statement? I guess we know what kind of commenters are on this site.

Racism against what, a country as an entity? My racism knows no bounds, in that case.

Racist? Seriously? Apparently, you don't know what that word means, or you are confusing a thought construct ("Russia", its government and artifical lines drawn on a map) with reality (people who live within the geographic area designated by artificial lines drawn on a map as "Russia" and who are referred to as "Russians").

Go home, Harley Strickly.... you're drunk.

When Christopher Davis hates your comment, you know its a good thing. Doesnt feel very good, does it?

I "hate" your comment because it's based on delusional nationalistic dogma and deliberate distortion of the definition of a simple English word like "racism" for some purpose of hating on Bitcoin.

Why are you even here, Harley? It's pretty clear you from your comments across several articles that you dislike Bitcoin, so why bother?

Bitcoin did not become popular until it skyrocketed to almost $1300 per coin. since then millions of people have bought in and lost everything. But all you care about is pumping your product to make a profit. I feel people should hear a different side of the story before they start dropping their live savings into your big dream. But i guess that makes me a disgusting troll to all bitcoiners. Sweet isnt it

You're a disgusting troll because you aren't debating any of the technology's actual innovations or operational points.

Troll = I hate something [because; no informed opinion involved].

Not Troll = I hate something because [this specifically in regards to the core function of subject; informed opinion].

Roll that around in your head for a while and when you get something concrete figured out, get back to us.

Actually, you are right on this one.... no one should "pump their life savings" into Bitcoin or anything else, for that matter. If they do, they have a big problem, and that problem isn't Bitcoin. Just sayin'.

As for "all I care about", you really don't know what I do or don't care about, do you? And Bitcoin isn't "my product"... my name is Chris Davis, not Satoshi Natamoto. Again, just sayin'....

A proposed correction.
"For example, individuals who are found to issue or create bitcoin or digital currencies will be penalized with fines of 30,000–50,000 rubles (1.5btc to 2.5btc). Similarly, officials found to engage in such practices will be subject to fines of 60,000–100,000 rubles (3btc to 5btc), while legal entities will be eligible for fines of 500,000–1m rubles (25btc to 50btc).

So let's see. Russia Bans Bitcoin, Tor, VPN, Bittorrent, and finally the internet/intranet!
Because that is the only way they will succeed holding back the bitcoin protocol and crypto currencies in general. What they do with a "Ban" is create MORE work in the crypto anarchist cypherpunk world to HIDE traffic and software related to crypto currency. The LONGER it stays in cypherpunk programming the STRONGER bitcoin will become as a unit of account, as well as the more anonymous and distributed.

What they do is allow for the WEST and EAST to gain an advantage in controlling the direction of the market by attempting to coopt it first.

If you look it from Russian side //then you will see good changes as at first it was proposed to put people in jail for bitcoin, but today it is administrative //after consultations with Russian police it became clear that if Russian bandits are not very computer genius, then if after more then 300 000 russian bitcoiners will get to jail then it will lead to cooperation of bitcoin and real criminals.. so it was changed to just fines. And it is also good that this changes happened when this "law" not even entered the parliament yet for discussion!

How ironic....BTC moving towards pleasing every law, regulation, and idea of the government...governments moving to outlaw it, should tell you plenty. It doesn't matter what you do, they do not like the idea of anonymous, finite, crypto currency.

As BTC moves towards legality, the price continues to drop steadily.

Use your heads people, if the government doesn't like it, it's probably awesome.

Stop complying.

Stop complying? Lol okay. I'll stop comply with the government. First let me double up the thickness of my tinfoil hat.

You can be their waiter then, I bet your hat looks great in public LOL

Have fun slave :) I'll be over here doing whatever I fking please :)

Have fun in your moms basement plotting your government takeover.

I don't want to take over the government, I just ignore it. Mum's dead, hope you feel tough keyboard warrior.

If the Russians have no use for them - I'll take them!

Just how the thing so fiersly hated by [autoritarian] state could be a bad thing?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA! This ought to drive the price of BTC "TO THE MOON!!!!!" The only thing that would make it jump up faster would be the US government trying to tax it like FRNs!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

-Oz

Lol

http://i.imgur.com/qfNkOGv.png

The United Kingdom was dumb enough to put in "The Locomotive Laws" or the "Red Flag Laws" in the 1860's, effectively banning the automobile. They feared it, and the laws were made to make their people fear it. They banned the automobile through regulation.

So Germany and the U.S. took over the car industry. It only cost the U.K. a few trillion dollars and millions of jobs. Within 40 years, the U.S. economy had surpassed Britain's.

Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it......
BD

it really doesn't make any sense if they really want to see an end to USA supremacy via the banking cartel. Obviously they are scared of the implications to their own power and control. DWEEBS!

We lost this battle, but we will win this war guys. Keep ya head up!

This isn't a battle. It's not a war either. It's an inevitability. The first possible global currency which a government really can't kill. Even trying to.

It's a war to gain free (financial) market. Money was
in the end invented by people and emerged from the free market.

it might not be a war, or a battle, whatever it is, it does appear you 'lost it'.

Even in a loss there is victory. Everyone in russia now knows that bitcoin is something so powerful that their government fears it.

This proposed ban is not going to change the long term success of the platform. It may in fact make it more certain.

What loss? This just ensures that anyone seeking to stash funds in ways that their government can't get to, is going to do it with a paper-wallet!

-Oz

Loss of (potential) startups / companies that are dealing with crypto currency and people using legit Bitcoin or other crypto currency in Russia. It's not all about stashing funds.

As we speak the price has further declined. Good news doesn't do anything yet bad news cripples the value of bitcoin. I first thought bitcoin was a great revolutionary tool against the power but now know it was a complete let down. Last year people had high hopes for this technology now people don't even want to touch it with a 10 foot pole. You then think ah maybe you can secure your wealth in gold but even that has depreciated further. These are truly some terrible times where truly incorruptible assets has no value but the false fraudulent assets holds the value. A very true dreadful reality of our times

This really could help bitcoin become much stronger. Constantly exchanging bitcoin to fiat, may increase the velocity of BTC but it doesn't really foster a BTC economy as much as staying in BTC to earn as well as spend. Also, I suspect the ban will not be very enforceable and would mean Russia missing out on a very important bit of tech. The rest of us will go with it anyway.

In Soviet Russia...

Yeah, no idea. Price continues to decline, Miners continue to switch off, and no-one is spending it ( to boost transaction fees ). It all looks bad at present.

We can learn a lot from this, but not without accepting that Bitcoin has flaws that need to be shored up.

People are doing Bitcoin transactions from North Korea. Good luck on implementing this ban, Russia!

http://thenextweb.com/asia/...

If you look at the charts and make a note of each point where China or Russia has put out bearish comments, it is aleays as the btc market is forming a trough. Obviously high power people in those countries are using their official positions to make huge amounts of money quickly. On the bright side at least the corrupt Russiasns are learning from the corrupt Chinrse, which is more than you can say about the corrupt Americans.

If in Russia an overstock/eBay seller of goods takes Bitcoin, that is legal. Demands a self contained Bitcoin currency within Russia. Or export for Bitcoin. Much less workable than in US or Europe or other centers.

looks like btc-e is moving their headquarters then

A lot of people are ignoring the real story. Here is a summary.
a) 2010 China announces effectively a global currency. Secretary of twat Clinton objects. The Chinese laugh. http://abcnews.go.com/Busin...
b) Bitcoin is fed into the dollar market until saturation, late 2013
c) Chinese begin a series of manipulative news events that will allow large traders to cushion markets and shift vast amounts of bitcoin to physical Chinrse control.Roughly 30% of bitcoin are shifted to Chinese control from late 2013 to early 2014.
d) Now its Russia's turn. Expect more blatant manipulation from now to November until there is a more reasonable global balance across nations. Then the switch will be flipped.

Headlines on Drudge - RUSSIAN HACKERS found to have hacked accounts from JP Morgan and nine other banks. 83 million more accounts compromised. The black market in Russia LOVES banks, and credit cards just they way they are. Bitcoin takes away their power to hack. Of COURSE they want all the US Suckers to keep getting new credit cards every three months that they can snipe off. Do you think they could maintain that racket with bitcoin?

Credit cards are a cash cow for them - why don't we just drop off a few semi truck loads of $100 bills at the boarder each month for them and avoid the rush.

Russian "authorities" are starting to understand the inevitable implications of Bitcoin upon deeply corrupt, unjustifiable structures of "authority". Bitcoin "Bans" = The beginnings of pants-shitting for rotten-to-the-core figures in positions of extraordinary power & wealth. Banning will only serve to rapidly evolve Bitcoin into VENOMOUS iterations that will be even WORSE for "regulators" and their ilk.

Whether Bitcoin is $10,000, $600, or $0 dollars on the exchanges makes very little difference in the long-game. They'd better get with the program, or find themselves trapped within a heinous nightmare from which they will never wake....

Jeezes