WOMAN WITH EXPRESSION OF INFINITE SORROW ANNOUNCES THE DEATH OF BITCOIN

A general demeanour of funereal foreboding 

A woman with an expression of infinite sorrow, speaking in dolorous tones redolent of the grave and wearing a drab grey jacket, evocative of endless suffering and grinding poverty, has announced the death of BitCoin.

Believed to be an employee of the Bank of Russia, the woman, with tomblike shadows playing around her brow, presented a report that resonated through the crypto World like the final nail being hammered deep into a very secure coffin lid.

The report, "Cryptocurrencies: trends, risks, measures," was presented during an online press conference by Elizaveta Danilova, the director of the Bank of Russia's Financial Stability Department.

In the report it says that cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, are volatile and widely used in illegal activities such as fraud, and risk undermining government efforts to maintain "optimal monetary policies." 

The report called for Russia to pass new laws and regulations to ban crypto-related activities. 

As reported by Coin Desk:

Issuance and trading using the country's financial infrastructure, which could pose a risk to Russia's financial stability... should be stopped. The bank said in November that Russians conduct over $5 billion worth of crypto transactions in a year, and that level did not pose a risk. An existing ban on using crypto for payments should be reinforced, and punishment should be introduced for buying or selling goods, services and labor by Russian individuals and businesses, the report suggests.

Russian institutional investors should not be allowed to invest in crypto assets and no Russian financial organizations or infrastructure should be used for cryptocurrency transactions. The Bank of Russia has already barred mutual funds from investing in cryptocurrencies. Now, it is suggesting introducing penalties for breaking the ban.

Cryptocurrency mining, which has flourished in Russia over the past few years and even earned some nods of approval from the country's parliament last year, also came under fire.

Mining creates fresh supply of cryptocurrencies, so it stimulates the demand for other crypto services such as exchanges and "creates a non-productive electricity expenditure, which undermines the energy supply of residential buildings, social infrastructure and industrial objects, as well as the environmental agenda of the Russian Federation," the report said.

This is part of a growing trend to clamp down on crypto that has seen it banned by the Chinese, as well as moves in the same direction in India. 

Only last month we reported on the Indian Central Bank's decision to crush crypto. 

There are also major moves under way in Western countries to replace crypto with something similar controlled by central banks. 

All the world is agreed on one thing: genuine crypto must die! Russia, to be honest, was the last hope, but now even that is gone. Sell! Sell! Sell!