While the Russian legislative assembly reviews the Bitcoin draft bill that will criminalize the use of digital currencies within Russia, Bitstamp has preemptively blocked traffic from IP address based in Russia.
There is no announcement on the official Bitstamp site regarding the ban, but Russian users are reporting that they can’t access their trading accounts at Bitstamp. In an email to their clients, Bitstamp claims that the action has been taken in response to the uncertainty surrounding the legal status of digital currencies in Russia:
“To ensure compliance with the new regulatory regime, protect affiliate service providers, and most importantly – protect our valued customers in Russia – Bitstamp has decided to temporarily block access to its website from Russian IP addresses until we can assess the situation with more clarity.”
Bitstamp also claims that they have received information that Russian authorities are blocking access to the site, “Bitstamp has been informed that the Russian government is prohibiting access to Bitstamp website for all of our Russian customers.”
According to the email notice sent to customers, Bitstamp cities possible legal repercussions as one of the reasons for the block.
“Again, we regret this inconvenience, but we do not want to expose anyone to possible fines or criminal sanctions by the Russian state.”
Source: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1329848.0
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