Those Countries Where Bitcoin Is Legal & Illegal – Part 2
Here is the continuation of countries saying yes and no to Bitcoin as legal tender. Make sure you get the facts right.
Continuation From The Earlier Post
Most of the countries are shy of letting the Bitcoin be a legal tender. The main reason is that it is unregulated regarding the financial institutions of the countries worldwide. Hereafter there are many which still give the Bitcoin a nod, and there are others that do not adhere to the legislation required to give the Bitcoin a nod. It is, therefore, necessary to know which countries are taking which stance. Therefore it helps the people across the globe to make the transaction across a secure network in case it is allowed to be legal tender.
Australia
The decision on Bitcoin is similar to that of the countries saying yes to the Bitcoin. It is similar to Canada where Australia considers Bitcoin to be neither money nor a foreign currency as with the Australian Taxation Office, ruling it an asset for capital gains tax purposes.
The European Union
The European Court of Justice had earlier ruled that buying and selling of digital currencies were considered as a supply of services and that this is exempt from value-added tax in all European Union member states. Therefore additionally some individual EU countries have also developed their Bitcoin stances.
To begin with, in the case of Finland the Central Board of Taxes has been given Bitcoin a VAT exempt status as it classified it as a financial service. Later on, Bitcoin is treated as a commodity in Finland and not as a currency. It was here that the Federal Public Service Finance of Belgium has also made Bitcoin exempt from VAT. Later on in Cyprus, the Bitcoin is still not controlled or regulated either. Moving forward, the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK has a pro-Bitcoin stance and wants the regulatory environment to be supportive of the digital currency. While the fact is that Bitcoin is under certain tax regulations in the UK, as the National Revenue Agency of Bulgaria has also brought bitcoin under its existing tax laws. Thereafter in the case of Germany, it is open to Bitcoin considering legal but taxed differently depending upon whether the authorities are dealing with exchanges, miners, enterprises, or users.
The Countries That Say No to Bitcoin
The next part of the discussion is about the countries that still do not legalize Bitcoin trading. The reason evident is just like what was mentioned earlier: the unregulated factor of the crypto. It helps decide where the line has to be drawn and in case the line is being drawn on water. Hereby the experts are still viewing the Bitcoin as something of the commodity or rather than legal tender, just like something used for money laundering and illegal activities.
The truth behind it is that while Bitcoin is welcomed in many parts of the world, there are a few countries wary because of its volatility, decentralized nature, perceived threat to current monetary systems, and links to those illicit activities like drug trafficking and money laundering. Hereby some nations have outright banned what is the digital currency while others have even tried to cut off any support from those of the banking and financial system that is essential for its trading and other uses.
China
It is here that Bitcoin is essentially banned as all banks and other financial institutions like payment processors are prohibited from transacting or dealing in Bitcoin. Therefore the cryptocurrency exchanges come to be banned as the government has cracked down on miners.
Russia
While the Bitcoin is not regulated in Russia, even though its use as payment for goods or services is illegal.
Vietnam
In the case of Vietnam, the government and its state bank maintain that Bitcoin is not a legitimate payment method as though it is not regulated as an investment.
Bolivia, Columbia, and Ecuador
Hereby El Banco Central de Bolivia has banned the use of Bitcoin as well as the cryptocurrencies. Here it is that Columbia does not allow Bitcoin use or investment. It is found that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were banned in Ecuador by a majority vote in the national assembly.
The Bottom Line
Commending on it although Bitcoin is now almost10 years old there are many countries still do not have explicit systems that restrict, regulate, or ban the cryptocurrency. Hence it is the decentralized and anonymous nature of Bitcoin that has challenged many governments on how to allow legal use while preventing criminal transactions. Thereafter many countries are still analyzing ways to regulate the cryptocurrency. Therefore overall, Bitcoin remains in a legal gray area for much of the world.