Russian cryptodemocracy for Hungary's pseudo-democrats – the FSB would like to peek into your wallet too

Russia is building such a grand democracy that soon there will be little point in keeping secrets at all. According to the Russian central bank's draft proposal, the FSB would have round-the-clock access to the customer data of domestic crypto exchanges and currency exchangers, so that the comrade major could see in one place who you are, who you've sent money to, and even what you wrote to customer support. The banks tried to get at least the keys needed to move the money excluded from the package, but according to the central bank, that matter has already been settled with the relevant authorities. The relevant authorities, as it happens, are the very ones who would also get access to the keys.

According to the draft, the rules could take effect on March 1, 2027. Crypto companies would have to install, at their own expense, the SORM surveillance system already used in telecommunications, and store everything the FSB wants to see on servers located in Russia — from passport data and bank account numbers to the exact time and IP address from which a customer logged in. The service providers suggested that if the security service needs data for a specific case, it should request it. The central bank preferred the version in which the FSB can look around at any time, with someone else even footing the electricity bill.

Based on the wallet address, it's possible to trace where the money went, but with the private key in hand, one can also transfer funds from it, which is why the Russian banking association asked that the keys and the tools used to sign transfers be explicitly excluded from the data accessible to the FSB. The central bank rejected the request, so it remains an open question whether the security service will also gain access to the keys entrusted to the service provider.

Russian investigators can already achieve a lot even without the keys, if an exchange simply tells them who is behind a given transfer. Reuters reported in August that Binance, upon a request, handed over a customer's personal data and transaction list, and Russian authorities used this information to charge a man who had donated to Ukrainian organizations with financing terrorism. In that case, the exchange still had to be contacted separately. For domestic service providers, the central bank would now spare investigators even that trouble, while on Friday it also announced that from November 17 small investors will be able to trade bitcoin, ether and tether, up to an annual purchase limit of three hundred thousand rubles per intermediary. So there will be a choice of three cryptocurrencies, but the major comes courtesy of the house. Over there, they call that democracy too; back home, it still takes a shot of vodka to get there.

Frenzy