15 countries where Bitcoin is legal and illegal

In this article, we will take a look at 15 countries where bitcoin is legal and illegal. Go to for more countries 5 countries where Bitcoin is legal and illegal.

2022 was a tough year for businesses, hedge funds and the stock market, but not all of them suffered as much as the cryptocurrency sector. Cryptocurrencies, once heralded as the end of traditional fiat money, took a hit this year as rising interest rates and sour economic sentiment prompted investors to flee the highly speculative market to safe-haven investments such as the US dollar and bonds. As an example, Bitcoin, the world’s leading cryptocurrency, is down 65% year-to-date as it approaches pre-pandemic crypto storm levels that saw capital flow into it as a result of falling stock markets and stimulus checks.

At the same time, as cryptocurrencies have grown, there has been a global push for governments to allow businesses to accept them as a payment method and even legal tender. However, the government’s warnings about the risk of cryptocurrencies were also confirmed last month when the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading Ltd. caused billions of dollars in losses for its clients. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) charges against the firm’s founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried initially appeared to be an “honest mistake,” but claims otherwise. According to the Reuters news agency, the main cause of FTX’s collapse was alleged changes to its algorithm by Bankman-Fried and his associates, which allowed the exchange’s partner, hedge fund Alameda Research, to borrow from it to make speculative investments in Alameda’s investments and its investments. allows you to continue. the value of the collateral has decreased. The vicious cycle that bankrupted the firm began when Alameda’s FTT tokens issued by FTX lost value after Coinbase sold its holdings. This undermined consumer confidence in FTX and led to massive withdrawals of consumer funds. However, FTX was unable to cough up the cash as it lent that money to Alameda for investments, leading to its demise.

The collapse of FTX also took the wind out of Bitcoin. After falling from this year’s peak of ~$47,000 to ~$20,000, the currency will soon take another hit, as most analysts assume it costs about the same to mine a Bitcoin. The drama began on November 6 after Coinbase announced its decision to sell its FTT holdings. Over the next three days, FTX’s clients fled, and Bitcoin fell from $20,905 to $15,757 – the level it was in November 2022 – effectively erasing two years of gains and profits for anyone who entered the trade during that time. Since that fateful day, the currency has gained less than a thousand dollars, with Bitcoin currently worth $16,456 at the time of writing (see the best bitcoin stocks to buy).

15 countries where Bitcoin is legal and illegal

Bitcoins

Our methodology

For this piece, we’ve divided countries into two groups—those where Bitcoin is implicitly legal and sometimes legal tender, and those where it’s completely banned. Banned countries are listed first. Furthermore, the legal frameworks of all the countries analyzed for the piece do not distinguish between Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, except for countries that make Bitcoin legal tender.

15 countries where Bitcoin is legal and illegal

15. People’s Republic of China

Bitcoin Legal or Illegal: Illegal

The People’s Republic of China is the world’s largest economy by one measure and has been one of the most popular regions for Bitcoin mining companies this decade due to the widespread adoption of the technology. However, prompted to act by the high environmental costs of mining and illegal activity, the Chinese government banned all cryptocurrency transactions in the country in 2021, at which time it banned banks and other institutions from providing services such as clearing and exchanges, and mining in the country. illegal. However, such was the Bitcoin frenzy at the time that the market simply dismissed the announcement and the Bitcoin price continued to rise. While cryptocurrency trading is banned, holding it as an asset is protected under Chinese law, according to a lawyer.

14. State of Qatar

Bitcoin Legal or Illegal: Illegal

The state of Qatar is a West Asian country located in the Middle East. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are completely banned in the country’s Qatar Financial Center (QFC). Qatar says the ban is due to poor compliance with know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. These rules are enforced globally by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and require banks and other financial service providers to verify their customer profiles and identify the source of funds they transfer domestically and internationally. In fact, the Central Bank of Qatar warned citizens against working with any unregulated financial firm after CoinMENA, an exchange compliant with Muslim law in the country in May 2022. Qatar is a Muslim country and follows Sharia law.