Cbank works with prosecutors to block cryptocurrency Web sites

MOSCOW, Oct 10 (PRIME) -- The Russian central bank sees signs of a financial pyramid in cryptocurrencies and works with the Prosecutor General’s Office to close the Web sites selling them, First Deputy Chairman Sergei Shvetsov said on Tuesday at a forum.

The central bank’s position is in line with the stance of the other BRICS countries, also comprising Brazil, India, China, and South Africa, that this tool has no legal description, is of an ambiguous economic nature, and does not allow the regulator to ensure investor protection, Shvetsov said.

“We believe that for our citizens and business, the use of cryptocurrencies as an investment object carries groundlessly high risks. We see the bitcoin transforming from a settlement unit into the asset bought to get a high yield in a short time, meaning signs of a pyramid…At that, even owners of large bitcoin amounts said that the system does not have much money, and the tool is of rather low liquidity and is almost impossible to withdraw from,” he said.

The central bank also sees all derivatives related to cryptocurrencies as a negative phenomenon on the market, Shvetsov said.

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