According to the Global Legal Research Administration (GLRD), of the US Law Library of Congress in a report, around 51 countries all over the world have some type of restrictions on cryptocurrencies.
Legal map source: coin.dance
A previous report from 2018 show’s a significant increase in cryptocurrencies ban, there were only 8 countries with a complete ban on crypto assets, and only 15 with restriction on digital currencies. And as of November 2021, 9 countries have completely banned cryptocurrencies, and 42 countries have brought a few regulatory rules.
Countries where cryptocurrencies are banned
Algeria: As in 2018 the Financial Law of Algeria has prohibited the use of any cryptocurrencies, because of the absence of physical support such as coins or paper money.
Bangladesh: Pointing to the possibility of money laundering, the central bank prohibited the use of any cryptocurrencies
Egypt: For religious reasons, a complete ban was introduced in 2019 by the government.
Iraq: The Central bank issued a statement prohibiting the use of cryptocurrencies because of the possible use for money laundering and other financial crimes.
Morocco: In November 2017, Foreign Exchange Office informed the public that virtual currencies were an infringement on foreign exchange regulations
Népal: The central bank banned crypto assets because is not a legal currency
Qatar: In January 2020, the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) announced that crypto asset services may not be conducted in or from the Qatar financial center, citing price volatility, terrorism and the possibility of financial crimes.
China: In 2017 the government stated a complete ban of any type of transaction with crypto assets.
Macedonia: The Governor of the National Bank of Macedonia stated that Bitcoin trading and use is illegal because international payment operations are conducted by Macedonian banks
Partial restrictions, such as banning banks from the adoption of digital assets, or restrictions on the functioning of exchanges, among others, have been introduced by Kazakhstan, Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and most African states.
The report also found that the number of countries subjecting crypto to tax laws, as well as anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws, has jumped from 33 in 2018 to now 103. With the exception of Bulgaria, all EU member states currently have these regulations. For comparison, in 2018 only 33 jurisdictions had cryptocurrency restrictions in these areas.
However, 21 countries do not apply any form of anti-money laundering or terrorist financing laws to their crypto industries, including Brazil, Jordan, Pakistan, and Kazakhstan.
