Bitcoin – a danger to national security… of all states around the world?

Despite the current confrontation of the United States and Russia, the lawmakers and establishment of both states have one thing in common – the position of each state on a particular matter. Authorities of both countries if not directly, then subtly suggest that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are a threat to national security.

The latest example of this is the new sanctions bill signed by Donald Trump and cited on CoinDesk website. This bill is mostly concerning sanctions on different states including Russia, but the US President also tells there that a new national security strategy must be developed. It is important, the author tells, to conduct discussions and data collection on trends of illicit financial operations, including, according to Mr. Trump, “evolving forms of value transfer such as so-called cryptocurrencies.”

At the same time, somewhere far away in Siberia, the office of Novosibirsk prosecutor has summoned the owner of a Craft beer pub called Bootleggers Craft Pub & Shop, Alexander Rusanov. Not so long ago, the pub announced it will accept bitcoin as a method of payment for drinks and food. As a result of the meeting, Rusanov received a written warning against the violation of Law on Anti-Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, RBC reports. The owner of Bootleggers Craft Pub & Shop reluctantly agreed with complaints of law enforcement and rejected the idea of cryptocurrency payment in his pub.