The Supreme Court of Russia has taken upon itself the responsibility to decide a case that may become a precedent for the crypto sector. The highest judicial authority in the country has accepted an appeal against the blocking of a popular Russian analytical portal – Bitcoininfo.ru. Its decision will affect dozens of crypto websites with restricted access, including foreign platforms like Localbitcoins.com.

Setting a Precedent

Lawyers from the Roskomsvoboda project and the Center for Digital Rights law firm have appealed the blocking of Bitcoininfo.ru, issued by a local court in Saint Petersburg in 2016. They are also fighting restrictions imposed on access to the popular Finland-based peer-to-peer exchange platform Localbitcoins.com. Experts say the decision of the highest judicial authority is likely to become a precedent for the whole crypto sector in Russia.

This is the first cassation appeal against the blocking of bitcoin-related source to be reviewed by the Supreme Court, Sarkis Darbinyan, leading lawyer of "Roskomsvoboda" told RBC. It was filed on February 16 and the court will meet to look into the case on March 21, 2018. The decision to restrict access to Bitcoininfo.ru was taken by the Vyborgsky District Court in Russia's Northern Capital.

Another local court, in Oktyabrsky District, banned more than 40 websites offering information about cryptocurrencies and exchange services in Russia. Its decision was recently struck down by the City Court of Saint Petersburg. The measure was requested by the Prosecutor's Office and effectively restricted access to the internet platforms. The judges had stated that the spreading of information about bitcoin and the use of cryptocurrencies was illegal in the Russian Federation.