--- title: Countries Where Cryptocurrency Is Legal and Illegal description: We've spent dozens of hours compiling the most useful information regarding cryptocurrency and its legal status across the globe. authors: - name: Julio Vargas Pérez role: Content Creator url: https://money.com/author/julio-vargas-perez/ bio: Julio Vargas is a Content Creator for Money, where he covers personal finance statistics and trends. at_money_since: 2021 articles: 10 covers: - Investing - Banking - Credit - Loans - Mortgages - Pets former_staff: true published: '2022-10-21T16:47:09.000Z' modified: '2022-10-21T16:47:09.000Z' section: Investing tags: - crypto - Cryptocurrency - Resources word_count: 1124 canonical: https://money.com/cryptocurrency-legal-status-by-country/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Illustration of a crypto coin divided on top of a world map](https://img.money.com/2022/10/EM-Countries-Crypto-Illegal.jpg?crop=0px%2C188px%2C2880px%2C1620px&quality=85) Interest in cryptocurrency has exploded in the past few years. The Pew Research Center [estimates](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/11/11/16-of-americans-say-they-have-ever-invested-in-traded-or-used-cryptocurrency/) 9 in 10 Americans have heard about crypto. From Matt Damon’s infamous [Super Bowl ad](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hBC5TVdYT8) to President Joe Biden’s March executive order asking the government to look into the risks posed by digital currencies, crypto is a hotter topic now than ever before. We have spent dozens of hours compiling the most relevant and useful information regarding cryptocurrency and its legal status across the globe. The viability, legality and even practicality of cryptocurrencies continue to be fiercely debated. As an increasing number of countries become more receptive to crypto, albeit to varying degrees, a deeper understanding of the legal status of crypto where you live will help you make the right decisions when considering if this asset is right for you. Before we take a look at the legal status of crypto across the world, let’s start with its beginnings. ## A brief history of cryptocurrency In order to better understand where we’re going, we need to know where we’ve been. The following timeline will give you some context and show you how cryptocurrency (or at least the concept of digital money) has been around longer than some of us have been alive. - The concept of electronic money goes all the way back to 1983, when it was proposed by computer scientist David Chaum. - In 1989 Chaum attempted to make his vision a reality by founding DigiCash, the first company to use cryptographic protocols, such as public and private keys, to complete transactions electronically. DigiCash was never able to grow its user base and in 1998 declared bankruptcy, being sold for assets in 2002. - In use since 2009, bitcoin is the oldest decentralized cryptocurrency, setting the standard for crypto as we know it. - In August 2014, the U.K. commissioned a study on cryptocurrency and what role it could play in its economy, focusing on regulation and consumer protection. - In June 2021, El Salvador became [the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender](https://money.com/bitcoin-el-salvador-national-currency/), though its de facto adoption by the people has been a challenge for the Salvadoran government. - In September 2021, China declared all cryptocurrency illegal. - In March 2022, Biden signed an executive order calling for measures to ensure the protection of consumers and investors, as well as to explore the possibility of a U.S. central bank digital currency. ## Legal status by country It’s easiest to name the countries where crypto is outright illegal. According to the [U.S. Library of Congress](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/llglrd/2021687419/2021687419.pdf), as of November 2021, a total of nine countries have banned cryptocurrency completely. These countries are Algeria, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Nepal, Qatar and Tunisia. Another 42 countries have an implicit ban on the asset, generally by the means of not allowing financial institutions in the given country to take on crypto companies as clients. ![](https://img.money.com/2022/10/Countries-Where-Crypto-Illegal-Map.jpg?quality=85) In general, wherever crypto is legal, it is subject to: - Anti-money laundering (AML) regulations: This allows the government to keep an eye on crypto trades to prevent illicit financial activity. - Taxation: Cryptocurrency taxes vary from country to country. For example, in the U.S., the IRS taxes crypto as property, not income. However, several countries in the European Union tax it as income, with no value-added tax (VAT) being applied. A VAT is a tax on goods and services, hence the contrast with how it is treated in the U.S.
JurisdictionOfficial Ban?Implicit Ban?Tax laws applied?AML/CFT* laws applied?
AlgeriaYesNoNoYes
BahrainNoYesN/AYes
BangladeshYesNoNo informationYes
BeninNoYesNo informationNo information
BoliviaNoYesNoNo
Burkina FasoNoYesNo informationNo information
BurundiNoYesNo informationNo information
CameroonNoYesNo informationNo information
Central African RepublicNoYesNo informationNo information
ChadNoYesNo informationNo information
ChinaYesNoUnclearUnclear
Côte d’IvoireNoYesNo informationNo information
Democratic Republic of the CongoNoYesNo informationNo information
EcuadorNoYesNoNo
EgyptYesNoNoYes
GabonNoYesNo informationNo information
GeorgiaNoYesYesNo
GuyanaNoYesNoNo
IndonesiaNoYesNoNo
IraqYesNoNoYes
JordanNoYesNoNo
KazakhstanNoYesNoNo
KuwaitNoYesN/AYes
LebanonNoYesNoYes
LesothoNoYesNoYes
LibyaNoYesNoYes
MacaoNoYesUnclearUnclear
MaldivesNoYesNo InformationNo information
MaliNoYesNo informationNo information
MoldovaNoYesNoNo
MoroccoYesNoNoYes
NamibiaNoYesNoYes
NepalYesNoNo informationNo information
NigerNoYesNo informationNo information
NigeriaNoYesNoNo
OmanNoYesN/AYes
PakistanNoYesNo informationNo
PalauNoYesNoNo
QatarYesNoNoYes
Republic of the CongoNoYesNo informationNo information
Saudi ArabiaNoYesN/AYes
SenegalNoYesNo informationNo information
TajikistanNoYesNoNo
TanzaniaNoYesNoNo
TogoNoYesNo informationNo information
TunisiaYesNoNoYes
TurkeyNoYesVAT: no
Other tax laws: yes		Yes
TurkmenistanNoYesNoNo
United Arab EmiratesNoYesYesYes
## Crypto as a daily-use currency Everyday purchases with Bitcoin are becoming a more common sight than ever before. Many avenues facilitate this, including: - [Coinmap](https://coinmap.org/), a website that allows you to find locations near you that directly accept crypto as payment - Crypto debit cards, which allow you to use your cyrpto to pay anywhere Visa or Mastercard is accepted, done by converting the crypto in your wallet into dollars upon purchase - Sites such as [Bitrefill](https://www.bitrefill.com/) and [CoinGate](https://coingate.com/gift-cards), which allow you to buy gift cards with your crypto These all make for convenient ways to use your crypto as cash, but if what you are looking for is a quick way to buy crypto with your cash, you’ll be happy to know that, ​​according to [Coin ATM Radar](https://coinatmradar.com/), there are upwards of 38,000 crypto ATMs worldwide. ## Final thoughts All emerging technologies inevitably go through some growing pains. The adoption of any new system carries the same risk-reward relationship that goes for investments. With cryptocurrency, you get that relationship twice over, as it is both a relatively new technology and an investment. As it goes with new tech, education is the cornerstone of sound decision-making. We hope the facts in this post helped you learn a bit more about cryptocurrency as a whole and set you on the path to determining whether crypto is right for you. If you enjoyed what you read here — and, I should hope so if you have made it this far — please consider sharing this with your friends and family. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/cryptocurrency-legal-status-by-country/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Investing", "item": "https://money.com/investing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Cryptocurrency", "item": "https://money.com/cryptocurrency/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Countries Where Cryptocurrency Is Legal and Illegal" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/cryptocurrency-legal-status-by-country/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/cryptocurrency-legal-status-by-country/", "name": "Countries Where Cryptocurrency Is Legal and Illegal", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2022-10-21T16:47:09.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/cryptocurrency-legal-status-by-country/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/cryptocurrency-legal-status-by-country/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2022-10-21T16:47:09.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Countries Where Cryptocurrency Is Legal and Illegal", "articleSection": "Investing", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2022/10/EM-Countries-Crypto-Illegal.jpg?crop=0px%2C188px%2C2880px%2C1620px&quality=85", "width": 1012, "height": 569, "caption": "EM-Countries-Crypto-Illegal" }, { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2022/10/Countries-Where-Crypto-Illegal-Map.jpg?quality=85", "width": 800, "height": 5890 } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Julio Vargas Pérez", "url": "https://money.com/author/julio-vargas-perez/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/julio-vargas-perez/#author", "description": "Julio Vargas is a Content Creator for Money, where he covers personal finance statistics and trends.", "image": "https://img.money.com/2022/08/julio-vargas-e1659555549830.png?w=350&h=414&crop=1" } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2022-10-21T16:47:09.000Z", "description": "We've spent dozens of hours compiling the most useful information regarding cryptocurrency and its legal status across the globe.", "abstract": "We've spent dozens of hours compiling the most useful information regarding cryptocurrency and its legal status across the globe.", "@id": "https://money.com/cryptocurrency-legal-status-by-country/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2022-10-21T16:47:09.000Z", "wordCount": 1124, "keywords": [ "crypto", "Cryptocurrency", "Resources" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Investment", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investment" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cryptocurrency", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Law", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law" ] } ] } ] } ```