We'll Never Legalize Bitcoin, Says Russian Minister (siliconangle.com) 55
An anonymous reader shares a report: In yet another backflip worthy of the Moscow Circus, a Russian minister has said that the country will never legalize bitcoin, just seven months after another government minister said it was considering making it legal. Minister of Communications and Mass Media Nikolai Nikiforov made the statement this week, saying that "bitcoin is a foreign project for using blockchain technology, the Russian law will never consider bitcoin as a legal entity in the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation." Recognizing that blockchain technology is separate to bitcoin, Nikiforov went on to say that "I think that it is quite possible to use blockchain technology and the use of various digital tokens." Those tokens may constitute a Russian-issued cryptocurrency. TASS reported that "Russia's Communication Ministry has submitted to the government the document containing technical details related to cryptocurrencies adoption."
in soviet russia.. (Score:4, Funny)
..the system games you
In Bitcoin global decentral empire (Score:1)
Russia (government) is vainglorious irrelevant autocracy.
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Vainglorious yes, but hardly irrelevant. Nowadays there are more stories on Slashdot about Russia than about Linux.
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Wrong article guys, sorry
The more you tighten your grip... (Score:5, Informative)
the more star systems will slip through your fingers
VPNs, encryption, Tor, the value of the Ruble. Keep trying Russia. It will be interesting to watch it play out.
don't misoverestimate security tools vs big gov (Score:2, Interesting)
Snowden showed the conflict between prior public perception of the utility of most internet related communication tools and what the government really thought of their effectiveness. And that was a government with at least half a historical foot in the liberty and free speech game. If I were a russian citizen I sure as hell wouldn't trust my personal safety to tor/vpn/encryption. Maybe those are the kinds of things you use for a Snowden level moment-in-history data transfer to jo
Re:The more you tighten your grip... (Score:4, Interesting)
Are all already banned in Russia [bleepingcomputer.com]. ISPs are madated by law to prevent the use of Tor/proxies/VPNs because they can be used to access 'extremist material'.
It's really descriptive of just how totalitarian the country has become that they're hard at work at out-Chinaing China itself when it comes to the control of the internet.
This is not to say there won't be those who still have access to Tor and VPNs, especially to those who're friends of the right people, but for the common folk this makes it really hard.
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It's really descriptive of just how totalitarian the country has become that they're hard at work at out-Chinaing China itself when it comes to the control of the internet.
Important distinction: China is actually enforcing those kind of laws against its people. In Russia, on the other hand, the severity of the laws is greatly mitigated by the fact that nobody gives a shit about the laws.
Backflip? (Score:3, Informative)
A few months ago they were considering it. After consideration they decided not to allow it. How is that a "backflip"?
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In the Ritalin-free Extreme Universe, where everything is raised to the power of Bob and the Founding Fathers, a finished administrative process is equivalent to a Benji jump.
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Exactly. FTFA :
They considered it and as a result of that consideration they decided against it. I have considered and decided against it myself.
Re: Not concerned (Score:1)
I'd argue that Native Americans were communists and it worked very well indeed.
Re: Not concerned (Score:2)
Really? Which means of production were owned by which "Native American" state?
"No, that sharpened stick isn't yours; it belongs to the glorious motherland, as does the rabbit you killed with it."
Never say never... (Score:3)
No confidence in the Ruble (Score:3)
They probably can't afford to undermine the value of the Ruble any more than the sanctions imposed by Obama did to it.
That and it's lack of traceability in a state that still loves to monitor everything everyone does.
The soviets lost through economic warfare and Russia today is still taking a hammering on that front.
The day they legalise BTC is probably the day it peaks and nose dives due to interested parties pulling plugs on that route.
1BTC = US$9,385 as I type this in. No oil or gold to back it, just ease of storage and movement and no, or limited, traceability.
If Russia started selling it's oil & gas in BTC today's $9K a coin would soon look like a bargain price.
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If Russia started selling it's oil & gas in BTC today's $9K a coin would soon look like a bargain price.
BTC is not a currency, it's a vehicle for speculation. Why would anyone spend a BTC to buy anything today when waiting even a few weeks or months results in massive gains? It's the same problem that any economy would experience with a rapidly appreciating currency. Why buy now when you can wait and buy more tomorrow? Eventually people stop using the rapidly appreciating currency for every day exchanges and it ceases to be a currency and becomes instead a speculative asset at best or the fodder for tomorrows
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Bitcoin and other blockchain systems have one use: as a perfect money laundering vehicle. Yes, it's an 'asset' bubble, but the ones doing the most transactions don't care, and since it's not tied to something with a real value, like land, they can let it inflate infinitely. It is in effect the perfect fiat currency, completely imaginary. Russia knows what it is and will only allow a blockchain variation which they have modified to be trackable so that they can get a cut.
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In capitalist America... (Score:2)
...Bitcoin legalizes you.
Russiophobia (Score:3)
Moscow "circus"? I'm seriously tired of this anti-Russia propaganda bullshit. I understand our two minutes of hate makes us feel good and let us forget how degenerated our Western democracies have become, but isn't it time to stop and to try to fix our countries instead of seeking a bogeyman?
Oh, and before another idiot say I'm a Rusky, my nickname is my real name and I live in Montreal, Canada.
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Moscow "circus"? I'm seriously tired of this anti-Russia propaganda bullshit.
It's a natural response to the pro-Russia bullshit propaganda, which has grown to massive proportions here on Slashdot in the last few years.
I understand our two minutes of hate makes us feel good and let us forget how degenerated our Western democracies have become, but isn't it time to stop and to try to fix our countries instead of seeking a bogeyman?
In short, no. There's lots of good evidence that they did in fact tamper with our political process in ways which are explicitly illegal here, and for good reasons.
Oh, and before another idiot say I'm a Rusky, my nickname is my real name and I live in Montreal, Canada.
I don't know if you're a Russkie, but I do know you're repeating their propaganda when you talk about "degenerated" "Western democracies".
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shill much? i've been frequenting this site nearly every day for the last decade or so. never have i seen a shred of anything "pro-Russia".
That's interesting, because your (anonymous, cowardly) comment is exactly how Russian trolls operate [slashdot.org].
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There is not a single piece of evidence Russia "tampered" with your elections. Not a single one. You are just repeating the bullshit American propaganda.
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There is not a single piece of evidence Russia "tampered" with your elections. Not a single one. You are just repeating the bullshit American propaganda.
Will you still be saying that when you find out specifically who's been trolling you? [bloomberg.com]
That's not a Back-flip (Score:4, Informative)
That's called studying an issue and announcing the conclusions after the study. Not a backflip. A back flip would be minister A saying Bitcoin will be adopted, and then a short time later, Minister B saying that it would never be accepted, without giving any reason for the change in position.