Reputational Battle: BestChange Explains Service Blockage

On February 9, Roskomnadzor restricted access to the cryptocurrency exchange aggregator BestChange.ru within Russia. Later, in comments to ForkLog, the service’s legal team revealed that the blockage was initiated by the Bank of Russia.

The BestChange team sought to understand the reasons behind the blockage and on February 13 provided ForkLog with a document containing a detailed analysis of the site’s operations and competitor activity.

According to the report, last week the service was subjected to DDoS attacks aimed at disabling the BestChange.ru site. Additionally, on February 10, around 30 websites published materials that the team believes appear to be commissioned and contain false information about the platform.

“The nature of the publications suggests a possible targeted campaign to discredit the BestChange brand. The mass postings might have been aimed at creating an impression of the need to replace the service with alternative competitor solutions. Advertising platforms continue to report requests for the publication of falsely negative materials about BestChange and attempts to place competitor advertisements,” the document states.

Representatives of BestChange emphasized that they do not intend to engage in a “reputational war” with competitors. However, the legal firm DRC, representing the service’s interests, is already taking measures to stop the flow of negative publications and hold all responsible parties accountable, including criminal liability.

“Despite the current situation, the BestChange team remains optimistic and has decided not to postpone the previously planned rebranding process of the platform, which has already received positive feedback. Amid the news activity, the service’s audience has noticeably increased,” commented the service’s representatives.

At the time of writing, the issue of restricted access to the BestChange.ru site remains unresolved. The service team continues to engage in dialogue with Roskomnadzor.

BestChange, the exchange aggregator, has repeatedly faced blockages by Roskomnadzor for disseminating prohibited information about the possibility of buying bitcoin and paying for certain goods with it.

In December 2020, BestChange was removed from Russia’s list of banned sites. In 2022, the service was excluded from a similar list in Uzbekistan.