The first deputy governor of Russia’s central bank, Sergei Shvetsov, has said that Bank of Russia will support efforts to block access to external websites selling cryptocurrencies in the country.
Shvetsov, speaking at a conference on October 10, cited the “unreasonably high risks” involved in cryptocurrency investment as a reason for the proposed measure, adding: “We cannot give direct and easy access to such dubious instruments for retail (investors),” Reuters reports.
Bank of Russia will be working with the country’s general prosecutor to block all exchanges offering Russians the opportunity to buy and sell cryptocurrency. Shvetsov further added that bitcoin shows signs of being a pyramid scheme.
This announcement had a severe effect on the Bitcoin price that was rallying towards $5,000. In a flash crash, Bitcoin’s value dropped by $600 before rebounding somewhat, getting back to $4,784.
