Russia Intensifies Network-Level Blocking of Crypto Media Websites

Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, known as Roskomnadzor, appears to be escalating a technology-driven crackdown on cryptocurrency news outlets. Recent reports from users across Russia indicate widespread disruptions when attempting to access major crypto and financial media websites, despite the absence of any official explanation from regulators.

To assess whether these disruptions followed a broader pattern, analysts conducted access tests on multiple crypto news platforms from different regions and networks. The results were consistent: several well-known crypto media sites failed to load on domestic Wi-Fi connections but became fully accessible when users switched to alternative connections. This ruled out website outages or server-side failures and instead pointed to deliberate network-level interference.

Testing covered a diverse group of international crypto and financial publications, including Cointelegraph, CoinEdition, AMBCrypto, CoinGeek, FXEmpire, Benzinga, and others. While this was not an exhaustive sample, industry estimates suggest that up to one in four crypto and financial media outlets may now face similar access restrictions in Russia. Notably, some platforms, such as BeInCrypto, remained accessible, indicating selective rather than blanket blocking.

Further technical diagnostics strengthened the case for ISP-level enforcement. When users enabled tools designed to bypass Deep Packet Inspection (DPI), previously blocked websites loaded without issue. This strongly suggests that Russian internet service providers are using DPI-based filtering rather than DNS manipulation or centralized shutdown mechanisms.

Additional testing involving crypto users across multiple regions showed uneven enforcement. Some providers blocked access entirely, others allowed intermittent connections, and a small number imposed no restrictions at all. Despite these differences, users consistently encountered the same connection-reset errors, reinforcing the likelihood of coordinated but decentralized implementation.

Importantly, none of the affected domains appeared in Roskomnadzor’s public blocking registry. Russian law allows certain access restrictions without public disclosure, suggesting these measures may be applied quietly under existing telecommunications regulations.

Overall, the findings indicate an uneven yet expanding system of network-level controls targeting crypto media in Russia. While crypto regulation in the country continues to evolve, these access restrictions highlight growing pressure on information channels serving the digital asset industry.