Russia, in terms of its stance on the cryptocurrency market and industry, has been very hot and cold until recently. In 2016, the Russian Federation termed the use and trade of cryptocurrency as illegal. But along with a lot of countries that deemed the market illegal, Russia got behind the cryptocurrency market after the market bull in December.

The President, Vladimir Putin, came out and made a statement saying that it was time for Russia to get behind the market and it would be foolish for the country to miss out on all the promise and potential that the blockchain holds. These comments were made after the financial advisor furthered discussions for the cryptocurrency market.  

After this particular press statement, there was a lot of news about Russia releasing a bill that regulated the use, circulation and trade of cryptocurrencies. The date of release was supposed to be no later than 1st of July.

However, in the light of more recent developments, it seems that the country is deemed not ready to regulate the market. The reasons cited for the same was that the circulation of cryptocurrencies in the country would be against and counterintuitive with respect to the functioning of the government.

With this in mind, cryptocurrency trading is an arduous task in Russia. It is difficult to own, buy or store them. But since the market is totally on the internet, it is hard to stop it from every possible angle.

The Russian Way

Because of the government’s back and forth, it is very difficult for people in Russia to posses and buy Bitcoins and other altcoins. However, the advantage that the cryptocurrency industry as a whole holds over governments and regulations is that its entire function is on the internet.

The Russian cryptocurrency community uses a series of exchanges that function globally. But at the same time these exchanges accept the Russian fiat currency Ruble. Here is a list of the top 4 most popular exchanges that the cryptocurrency community in Russia uses.

Changelly

Changelly is a cryptocurrency exchange that is headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic. It is mainly a cryptocurrency exchange, but it also deals with a lot of other digital assets. Another thing that Changelly deals with is the seamless transfer of digital assets. The only drawback of using Changelly is that the transaction fee is quite high.

YoBit.net

YoBit.net has a lot of bad reviews. But contrary to that this the cryptocurrency exchange is actually quite user-friendly. The interface is very intutive and is extremely easy to use. The transaction fees aren’t too high either. This exchange is quite popular among the Russian cryptocurrency community.

BITQUICK

BITQUICK is another very popular cryptocurrency exchange in Russia. This exchange is possibly one of the fastest ways for users to get their hands on Bitcoins. The cryptocurrency exchange mostly deals with cash payments only and accepts most fiat currencies globally.

Paxful

Paxful is another P2P platform that allows users to sell Bitcoin for money. An interesting feature that Paxful has is that it offers over 300 ways to pay for Bitcoins. Some of them include Amazon Giftcards, cash deposits, etc.