• Press Releases
    • Submit a press release
    • Read All
  • Advertise
  • Contact us
Crypto.com Logo Crypto.com Logo
Bitcoinist.com
No Result
View All Result
  • Bitcoin
    • News
    • Price
    • Businesses
    • Acceptance
    • Technology
    • Investment
    • Regulation
    • Reviews
    • All Bitcoin News
  • Altcoins
    • News
    • Price
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple
    • Litecoin
    • EOS
    • NAGA
    • All Altcoin News
  • Tech
    • Blockchain
    • Security
    • FinTech
  • Industry
    • Press releases
  • Price
    • Bitcoin Price
    • Ethereum Price
    • Litecoin Price
    • Binance Coin Price
    • Monero Price
    • MimbleWimbleCoin Price
  • How to
    • Buy gift cards/mobile Top Ups with Cryptos
    • What Is Bitcoin?
    • Best Bitcoin Wallet
    • Bitcoin vs Ethereum
    • Why Use Blockchain Technology?
    • Bitcoin Cash ABC vs. Bitcoin Cash SV
    • How to Buy Cryptocurrency
    • Bitcoin Mining
    • Best Bitcoin Brokers
    • Best Bitcoin Forex Brokers
    • How To Earn Bitcoin
    • What is Facebook Libra?
    • Ripple and XRP: The Complete Guide
    • Bitcoin Casinos – Where, What and How to Play
  • Play Games
  • BET&WIN
  • Bitcoin Casino Reviews
  • Bitcoin
    • News
    • Price
    • Businesses
    • Acceptance
    • Technology
    • Investment
    • Regulation
    • Reviews
    • All Bitcoin News
  • Altcoins
    • News
    • Price
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple
    • Litecoin
    • EOS
    • NAGA
    • All Altcoin News
  • Tech
    • Blockchain
    • Security
    • FinTech
  • Industry
    • Press releases
  • Price
    • Bitcoin Price
    • Ethereum Price
    • Litecoin Price
    • Binance Coin Price
    • Monero Price
    • MimbleWimbleCoin Price
  • How to
    • Buy gift cards/mobile Top Ups with Cryptos
    • What Is Bitcoin?
    • Best Bitcoin Wallet
    • Bitcoin vs Ethereum
    • Why Use Blockchain Technology?
    • Bitcoin Cash ABC vs. Bitcoin Cash SV
    • How to Buy Cryptocurrency
    • Bitcoin Mining
    • Best Bitcoin Brokers
    • Best Bitcoin Forex Brokers
    • How To Earn Bitcoin
    • What is Facebook Libra?
    • Ripple and XRP: The Complete Guide
    • Bitcoin Casinos – Where, What and How to Play
  • Play Games
  • BET&WIN
  • Bitcoin Casino Reviews
Bitcoinist.com
No Result
View All Result
Bitcoin Illegal
Nexo

11 Countries Where Bitcoin is Still Illegal

Allen Scott by Allen Scott
4 years ago
in Bitcoin Regulation, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Education, Op-Ed
0
Advertisement

While Bitcoin can already be called the world’s first global currency, it is nevertheless illegal in a several countries, where using it has been outlawed by the government. By doing so, the future is not looking bright for these largely third-world nations with struggling economies.


11 Countries Where Bitcoin is a Crime

Bitcoin is not only the world’s first cryptocurrency, it is also the first borderless and apolitical form of money in the history of mankind. It is the next step in the evolution of money technology that’s rapidly developing in lockstep with an increasingly interconnected world.

5 BTC + 300 Free Spins for new players & 15 BTC + 35.000 Free Spins every month, only at mBitcasino. Play Now!

Bitcoin nodes are distributed all over the world, forming a decentralized network without a central point of failure. This ensures that no government can shut off the entire Bitcoin network on a global scale.

According to data compiled by Coin.dance, Bitcoin is unrestricted in 107 of 251 countries or regions. Here, ‘unrestricted’ means that using Bitcoin is either deemed legal by the government or that there is currently no explicit restriction in place against using cryptocurrencies in general.

BitStarz Player Lands $2,459,124 Record Win! Could you be next big winner?
Get 110 USDT Futures Bonus for FREE!

Looking closer, almost half of these countries are majority muslim with theocratic political systems like Qatar and Afghanistan. And since views on whether Bitcoin is halal or haram are still conflicted, these nations have simply made Bitcoin illegal to use on religious grounds.

What is the best crypto casino in July 2022? Read our comprehensive comparison! We made deposits, played and reviewed 80+ crypto casinos to choose the best one.

But whether such policies can actually be enforced is a separate question altogether.

Bangladesh, for example, is perhaps the only known country where police have hunted down individual Bitcoin users. Likely, Bitcoin’s illegal status in most of these countries is merely a formality on paper in an attempt to dissuade its citizens. 

Nevertheless, data from LocalBitcoins shows that Bitcoin being illegal hasn’t stopped people from trading it in countries like Morocco and Vietnam.

Others on the list have their own reasons. Ecuador, for example, was the first country to launch its own digital currency in 2014 and simultaneously decided to ban any competition.

Unfortunately for Ecuador, however, the experiment seems to have failed.

Restricting Innovation Makes a Poor Nation

But regardless of whether countries are majority-muslim countries or not, the underlying theme is the same: nations’ central banks simply don’t want competition to its money monopoly.

“In Macedonia, the legal means for payment in cash and non-cash payment operations is the denar,” said Governor of the National Bank of Macedonia, Dimitar Bogov.

The international payment operations are carried out through the payment operations carriers, which are the banks. Hence, trading in bitcoin or using it for payments in Macedonia is illegal.

Unfortunately for these nations have yet to realize that such policy is futile. Though traditional on and off-ramps can indeed be restricted, it is impossible to completely shut off Bitcoin—much like the internet. Technological innovation will always be a step ahead of government (in)action and capital controls can only result in capital flight, while turning these nations into islands of stagnation.

What’s more, Bitcoin is not a static technology like conventional fiat money. It constantly evolves along with its ecosystem. Innovating solutions to remove barriers to entry are nothing new for Bitcoin. In fact, its network can now be accessed using all kinds of devices, from dumb-phones via SMS to satellites along with new on-ramps in development such as decentralized exchanges like Bisq.

Inversely, the first nations who jumped on the Internet back in the 80’s and 90’s, became fertile ground for companies like Apple, Microsoft, Cisco, Skype etc. making them even wealthier. Meanwhile, those who shunned the advent of the information age have been playing catch-up ever since.

Banning Bitcoin puts the already-struggling economies of these countries at a huge disadvantage down the road. Afghanistan and Bangladesh, for example, are some of the poorest nations in the world who are shooting themselves in the foot as they continue down the same path. 

Meanwhile, it is no coincidence that wealthy nations like Switzerland, Singapore, and Japan are embracing fintech and welcoming cryptocurrency businesses. They’e even competing among themselves to become ‘Blockchain hubs’ and ‘Crypto islands‘ in an effort to attract companies through friendly legal environments and even subsidies.

Bitcoin business brings innovation, which means an influx of capital, resulting in more tax revenue, jobs, and a better standard of living for the entire population. 

Will these countries eventually start making Bitcoin legal? Let us know in the comments below! 


Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Twitter, coinwriting.com, coin.dance

ShareTweetShareShare

Sign Up for Our Newsletter!

For updates and exclusive offers enter your email.

I consent to my submitted data being collected and stored.
Allen Scott

Allen Scott

Allen is the editor-in-chief at Bitcoinist.com. He has a background in journalism and economics and had his Bitcoin "Aha!" moment in 2013. He has interviewed some of the most prominent experts, entrepreneurs and thought-leaders within the cryptocurrency space. Send your leads, tips or interview requests to: [email protected]

Related Posts

bitcoin and stocks

Is the Bitcoin Stock Market Correlation Finally Ending?

9 hours ago
Bitcoin

Bitcoin Is Now Accepted In This Popular Resort In The Maldives

13 hours ago
Anthony Scaramucci

Here’s Why Scaramucci Expects Bitcoin Price To Reach $300,000 Before 2030

2 days ago
liquidations

Liquidations Cross $280 Million After Bitcoin Price Falls Below $25,000

2 days ago
Bitcoin

Bitcoin Will Beat Gold As Store Of Value, MicroStrategy CEO Says

3 days ago
Crypto Corner: The Sports Slice

Crypto Corner: The Sports Slice

3 days ago

Bitcoin news portal providing breaking news, guides, price analysis about decentralized digital money & blockchain technology.

Bitcoin

  • News
  • Price
  • Businesses
  • Acceptance
  • Technology
  • Investment
  • Regulation
  • Reviews

Altcoins

  • News
  • Price
  • Ethereum
  • Ripple
  • Litecoin
  • EOS
  • NAGA

Categories

  • Blockchain
  • Security
  • FinTech
  • Technology
  • Trending
  • Breaking News
  • Press Releases
  • How to

Pages

  • Contact us
  • Editorial Policy
  • Advertise
  • Crypto Prices from Nomics
© 2022 Bitcoinist.com. All Rights Reserved.
  • Bitcoin
    • News
    • Price
    • Businesses
    • Acceptance
    • Technology
    • Investment
    • Regulation
    • Reviews
    • All Bitcoin News
  • Altcoins
    • News
    • Price
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple
    • Litecoin
    • EOS
    • NAGA
    • All Altcoin News
  • Tech
    • Blockchain
    • Security
    • FinTech
  • Industry
    • Press releases
  • Price
    • Bitcoin Price
    • Ethereum Price
    • Litecoin Price
    • Binance Coin Price
    • Monero Price
    • MimbleWimbleCoin Price
  • How to
    • Buy gift cards/mobile Top Ups with Cryptos
    • What Is Bitcoin?
    • Best Bitcoin Wallet
    • Bitcoin vs Ethereum
    • Why Use Blockchain Technology?
    • Bitcoin Cash ABC vs. Bitcoin Cash SV
    • How to Buy Cryptocurrency
    • Bitcoin Mining
    • Best Bitcoin Brokers
    • Best Bitcoin Forex Brokers
    • How To Earn Bitcoin
    • What is Facebook Libra?
    • Ripple and XRP: The Complete Guide
    • Bitcoin Casinos – Where, What and How to Play
  • Play Games
  • BET&WIN
  • Bitcoin Casino Reviews

© 2021 Bitcoinist. All Rights Reserved.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy Center or Cookie Policy.