Bitcoin Regulations by Country

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 do bitcoin regulations matter?  Here’s a real-life example that sheds some light.

Upon returning home from a vacation in Cuba, a British citizen named Elliott Smith learned that his Coinbase account was closed. Coinbase, an American company, was acting in accordance with U.S. Department of Treasury requirements regarding the use of American-hosted funds in a sanctioned country.

Smith’s case represents the hazard of differing altcoin laws between nations. Perceptions of altcoins change daily, and this affects the security of altcoin investments. This sense of ambiguity and lack of international agreement make an international investment in altcoins tricky.

List of current national guidelines and official opinions on altcoins;

Legality of Cryptocurrencies by Nation

Nation   Legal Status   Notes

Argentina   Legal   Argentina recognizes digital currencies as a good, with no right to be used as legal tender. The National Constitution of Argentina gives cryptocurrencies monetary status.

Australia   Legal/Regulated   Australia recognizes cryptocurrencies as currency and taxes them accordingly.

Bangladesh   Illegal   Bangladesh‰'s anti-money laundering laws threaten to imprison anyone dealing with cryptocurrencies in the country for up to twelve years. "Bitcoin is not a legal tender of any country. Any transaction through Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency is a punishable offense," the Bangladesh Bank said in a 2014 statement.

Belgium   Unregulated   

Bolivia   Illegal   Bolivia explicitly bans any non-governmental digital currency from use in the country.

Bosnia and Herzegovina   Unregulated   

Brazil   Unregulated   Cryptocurrency regulations are planned for the near future.

Bulgaria   Legal/Regulated   Cryptocurrency is regulated by the nation‰'s payment services laws.

Canada   Legal/Regulated   Cryptocurrencies are recognized as an ‰"intangible‰" under the Personal Property Security Act. As with all G7 nations, Canada imposes AML/CTF controls on cryptocurrencies.

Chile   Unregulated   

China   Illegal   China has banned cryptocurrencies and has prohibited exchanges from operating within its borders.

Colombia   Unregulated   

Croatia   Legal   Croatia declared cryptocurrencies legal in 2013.

Cyprus   Unregulated   

Czech Republic   Unregulated   The government is officially uninvolved in licensing or regulating cryptocurrency businesses as of 2015.

Denmark   Unregulated   

Ecuador   Illegal   Ecuador sees digital currency as a rival to its national digital currency. The use of non-nationalized cryptocurrencies in the country is strictly banned.

Estonia   Unregulated   

Finland   Legal/Regulated   Cryptocurrency transactions via an exchange are exempt from VAT.

France   Legal/Regulated   

Germany   Legal/Regulated   Germany recognizes digital currencies as ‰"private money‰" and a ‰"unit of account‰" for the purposes of tax and trading. It can be used for "multilateral clearing circle‰" and is regulated the same as domestically-held fiat currency.

Greece   Unregulated   

Hong Kong   Unregulated   Hong Kong maintains AML/CTF controls over cryptocurrencies.

Iceland   Legal/Regulated   In 2017, cryptocurrencies were exempted from the Icelandic Foreign Exchange Act, which prohibited transfer of Icelandic currency across borders by means of an exchange.

India   Unregulated/Disputed   Discussions are currently be held if the Securities and Exchange Board of India or the Reserve Bank of India will have final say over cryptocurrency regulations.

Indonesia   Illegal/Partly Regulated   The Bank of Indonesia banned the use of cryptocurrencies as payment methods in 2018, but the country's financial regulator has approved cryptocurency futures trading on regulated exchanges.

Ireland   Unregulated   

Israel   Legal/Regulated   Israel recognizes cryptocurrencies not as currency or a commodity, but as a taxable asset. Miners and traders must pay corporate income tax in addition to a 17 percent VAT, with sold digital currencies asserting a capital gains tax of 25 percent.

Italy   Legal   Italy has no regulations on private use of cryptocurrencies.

Japan   Legal/Regulated   Japan recognizes cryptocurrencies as money and as legal tender for the payment of debt.

Jordan   See note   Jordan permits the use of cryptocurrencies by small business and individuals while banning banks, currency exchanges, financial companies, and payment service companies from accepting them. The nation also strongly discourages their use.

Kyrgyzstan   Legal   Cryptocurrencies are considered as commodities under the laws of the Kyrgyz Republic and may be legally traded and mined within the country's borders.

Lebanon   Legal/Cautioned   The nation strongly discourages the use of cryptocurrencies, but does not hinder their usage.

Lithuania   Legal/Cautioned   

Luxembourg   Legal/Regulated   Luxembourg issues New York State-style BitLicenses to bitcoin businesses.

Malaysia   Unregulated   Malaysia does not recognize cryptocurrncies as legal tender.

Malta   Unregulated   

Netherlands   Unregulated   

New Zealand   Unregulated   

Nicaragua   Legal   

Nigeria   Unregulated/Disputed   Nigeria bans banks from engaging in cryptocurrency transactions and requires Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorists assurances utilized for any banking customers known to deal in digital currencies. Nigeria also does not recognize cryptocurrncies as legal tender or as a legitimate commodity but bitcoin startups are still allowed to operate within the country's borders.

Norway   Legal/Regulated   Norway sees cryptocurrencies as assets subject to the wealth and sales taxes, but not the VAT.

Pakistan   Unregulated   

Philippines   Legal/Regulated   Cryptocurrency transactions are regulated by the Central Bank of the Philippines.

Poland   Unregulated   Poland recognizes cryptocurrencies to be legal, but not on par with legal tender or electronic money, as defined by the European Union.

Portugal   Unregulated   

Puerto Rico   See United States   Puerto Rico has no territory/state level laws concerning digital currencies.

Romania   Legal/Cautioned   

Russia   Unregulated   Cryptocurrencies are currently unregulated but the Russian government plans to introduce regulations in the near future.

Singapore   Unregulated   Singapore recognizes cryptocurrency transactions as barter sales and taxes them accordingly.

Slovakia   Unregulated   

Slovenia   Legal/Regulated   Slovenia recognizes cryptocurrencies as neither currency nor an asset. As such, there are no capital gains taxes on cryptocurrency investments. However, Slovenia does tax cryptocurrency mining and digital currency transactions.

South Africa   Unregulated   The Reserve Bank of South Africa holds that cryptocurrencies have ‰"no legal status or regulatory framework," but has generally taken a positive stance towards cryptocurrency-based innovation.

South Korea   Legal/Regulated   Cryptocurrencies are legal and investos are free to trade them provided they have fully KYC'd accounts. Anonyomus trading accounts are not permitted.

Spain   Legal/Regulated   Spain recognizes cryptocurrency transactions as barter transactions. ICOs are currently banned but there are plans to introduce specific regulations for them.

Sweden   Legal/Regulated   Sweden recognizes cryptocurrencies as currency exempt of the VAT, but requires bitcoin businesses that handle fiat currency to apply for a license and follow AML/CTF practices.

Switzerland   Legal/Regulated   Elements of the Swiss government have accepted digital currencies as payment. Bitcoin businesses may need a banking license to practice in Switzerland and are required to adhere to AML/CTF practices.

Taiwan   Legal/Cautioned   Taiwan advises against the use of cryptocurrencies and has instructed banks dealing with cryptocurrencies to follow strict AML/CTF practices. Since then, the government stance has softened and regulations are planned for late 2018.

Thailand   Legal/Regulated   After banning cryptocurrencies in 2016, the Thai government since changed its tone and has issued crytocurrency regulations in 2018 that state that seven cryptocurrencies (bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, Ripple, and Stellar) are legal and are allowed to be traded and can be used in ICOs.

Turkey   Unregulated   Cryptocurrencies are currently not regulated in Turkey.

United Kingdom   Legal/Regulated   Cryptocurrencies are recognized simultaneously as ‰"foreign currency‰" and ‰"private money.‰" VAT is waived for exchange purchases, but will be collected for other cryptocurrency transactions. Cryptocurrencies investments are are subject to capital gains tax.

United States   Legal/Regulated   Cryptocurrencies have varying legality, depending on the state. See guide of bitcoin legality in the United States for clarification. Federally, cryptocurrencies are treated as commodities that can be taxed as income or for capital gains.

Vietnam   Banned   The Vietnamese financial regulator has banned businesses from engaging in any cryptocurrency-related activities within the country in mid-2018.

Zimbabwe   Unclear/Disputed   The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has taken a negative stance towards cryptocurrencies by banned financial insititons from dealing in cryptocurrencies. This ban was later overturned by a High Court. For the individuals cryptocurrency user, there are no restrictions.

Source : https://www.bitcoinmarketjournal.com