Russia will block access to websites of exchanges that offer crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin, Russian Central Bank.
Russian financial authorities initially treated any sort of money issued by non-state approved institutions as illegal, saying they could be used to launder money.
Later the authorities accepted the globally booming market of crypto-currencies but want to either control the turnover or to limit access to the market
The central bank sees rising interest in crypto-currencies because of high returns from buying into such instruments.
The crypto-currencies gradually transform into high-yielding assets from being a mean of payment.
Bitcoin, the most well-known virtual currency that emerged in mid-2010, last traded at around USD 4,807, up from its initial price of less than USD 1.
For businesses the usage of such crypto-currencies as an investment object carries unreasonably high risks.
Russian authorities said they would like to regulate the use of crypto-currencies by Russian citizens and companies.
