The Russia-based Crypto Website BestChange Accessible Again

The website aggregates exchange information and may have been blocked for violating a law on advertising passed last year.

The BestChange website was blocked on Feb. 10 without warning and added to the list of banned websites maintained by Roskomnadzor, the federal communications authority. It was unblocked on Feb. 20.

Listing Exchange Data Could Violate the Law on Advertising

A spokesperson for BestChange told Reuters that the organization did not know the reason for its blockage. Lawyers for the organization were in contact with the Russian central bank and Roskomnadzor; they were not informed of the reason for the blockage nor that the website would be unblocked, as reported by RBC.

Internet provider Megafon had posted a notice saying the website was blocked under the federal law “On the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia).”

According to Similarweb.com, there are several websites currently in operation that provide similar services in Russia.

Observers suspected that the website was violating amendments to the advertising law passed in August, which prohibited the advertising of cryptocurrencies and related services.

Crypto Exchanges Are Caught in a Web of Changing Legislation

The website was blocked by Roskomnadzor in 2017, 2019, and 2020; in those instances, the blockage was due to the prohibition on Bitcoin usage.

BestChange lists exchanges and compares the rates they offer for exchanges involving cryptocurrency, fiat, electronic money, and other financial instruments. It can send notifications when exchange rates reach pre-selected points and carry out “double-exchanges” using an intermediate vehicle when direct exchanges are not possible.

BestChange continued to operate while its website was blocked, presumably because its mirror website, hosted outside the Russian Federation, remained accessible.

Russia has legalized and begun taxing crypto mining in areas with adequate power supply, and it permits cryptocurrency use for international transactions to circumvent sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union.

Discussions have reportedly been held on establishing cryptocurrency exchange programs at the Moscow Exchange and St. Petersburg Currency Exchange. Russian President Vladimir Putin declared cryptocurrency a form of property in December. Despite these measures, the central bank has cracked down on over-the-counter crypto trading.

Despite the regulatory challenges, Chainalysis ranked Russia seventh in cryptocurrency adoption in 2024.