Bitcoin Forum

I knew that there are a great many of people in my country use Bitcoin but I dont know whether Bitcoin is legal or not?

That depends on where you live. Read this Wikipedia article to check whether or not it is legal in your region: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_bitcoin_by_country_or_territory

The reality is that bitcoin is a decentralized asset, meaning governments cannot really control it. Even if it's illegal, you can still use it with a low possibility of the government ever finding out. https://www.privacytools.io could be used to harden your privacy and make it close to impossible for the government to be able to figure out that you use cryptocurrencies.

The good answer is It's totally depend on governments. If governments say it's legal so it's legal. One more point is governments can't generate own benefits so they can't legal it. Mostly governments doing same in there country's.     

If you are in Bangladesh, Bolivia, Ecuador, Kyrgyzstan, and Nepal then yes. If not then it's likely legal to varying degrees.

The legality of Bitcoin itself depends on where do you live
Some countries allows bitcoin, others do not, and the rest doesn't really have any stance on bitcoin itself.

In my place, bitcoin itself is placed within gray zone, you are allowed to use them for payment gateway, but if I somehow got scammed I don't have any protection from the governments and its laws.
You can check the legality by consulting your local government or from this wikipedia article, they're really useful ;)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_bitcoin_by_country_or_territory

Bitcoin as of now is illegal in the following countries: Algeria, Morocco, Bolivia, Ecuador, Kyrgystan, Bangladesh and Nepal. As mentioned earlier in this topic it still very hard for these countries to even find out if you have bitcoin. I think you should also keep in mind that a lot of countries have not yet decided a way to monitor the amount of bitcoin in their country, and new rules might come into place soon e.g. you might see some european countries placing new laws on bitcoin holders.

Thank you for the link. Based on the wikipedia it's legal in my country Philippines.

There are many countries that banned bitcoin because of their rules and laws. When it is ban to your country, then bitcoin is then illegal.

It depends on country, but in many countries it's neither legal yet, nor illegal, somewhere in a grey area, because governments are deciding it now

Some countries in the world such as bangladesh, singapore, thailand assume that the use of bitcoin is illegal. The main reason for this ban is due to the uncertainty of the value of this digital currency. Another reason is the fear that the digital currency is used as a financing for terrorism

At some countries bitcoin is considered legal and being used as currency. Some countries like china they otherwise and banned the use of bitcoin. Some of the countries meanwhile don't care or haven't heard yet of bitcoin.

I read that regualtives comes this year. But many said that this is not legal 100%

Who decide what should be legal and what shouldn't be? Is there a guideline to follow? It is us, Human, who come up with these decisions. What I consider legal can be, through someone else's perception, illegal. A group of people that are more powerful than us (as individuals) with authority, can enforce their regulation.

Bitcoin has many shortcomings (slow, high fees, public transactions). Think outside the box. There are privacy altcoins that protect their users by hiding their identities. If you can't identify transaction origins you can't point the finger. Do your research and avoid centralized and closed-source crypto-currency.

From the information I received, I realized that bitkoyn is illegal in those countries where it is banned. At the same time, this is legal, where it was not banned.

Exactly, it depends on the Government

I do not see the point of prohibiting bitcoin. The government is going through losing control over the money? Or worry that citizens can get rich, and start living freely? Participation in the state lottery - please, and buy a profitable investment is prohibited? Absurd.

The legalities of bitcoin mainly depends on who you are, where you live, and what you are doing with it. But for the most part bitcoin remains relatively safe to use as long as it is not tied to illicit purchases or activities. However, some countries have completely banned bitcoin such as Iceland as well as some countries in Northern Africa, South America, central and South Asia.

Yeah, because the government always wants to control their people. They cannot control the economy of their people if bitcoin still exist in their country.

It actually depends on where you are living. Some of the countries  legalize bitcoin as a new and innovative payment method. But there are some countries that bans bitcoin because it is vulnerable in corruption even though it is a decentralized.
2nd reason is that Cryptocurrencies do not have any commodities unlike fiat money.

It's depend what country are you living now, may be you should know it before trading :)

In Belarus Our President want to do it legal. I think in fast future we will have Change places were you can change not only EUR or USD and Bitcoin, Ethereum.

If something isnt forbidden its allowed. Dont know any possible ways to bitcoin become illegal because there is no reason. People have nature to complicate things, so who knows.

Legality of BTC is a subjective matter. Some countries like Japan made it completely legal few countries have banned it and in some countries like US it is partially banned.

Countries like Russia, India are in process of drafting a regulation on BTC and crypto coins.

I believe bitcoin is not legal but not illegal at the same time what it likes is an online business that all participants are getting profit.

It's not illegal, for now. But there're countries that already think how to regulate or ban it.

Bitcoin is not illegal at most parts of the world, bu at the same time many countries are planning to stop it some how. We the crypto lovers are actually waiting those countries to regulate it.

Developent countries it is legal for example Rusia, Amerika, and etc. But it is ilegal for undevelopment countries.
It is my opinion hopefully can help your question.

I am very sad for our country not accept bitcoin and all vertual coin, this problem in our country,  but sell & buy all coin screately😭😭😭

The legal status of bitcoin varies substantially from country to country and is still undefined or changing in many of them. Whilst the majority of countries do not make the usage of bitcoin.
Due to the lack of control of the country, many countries do not allow the use of bitcoins.

It's not legal but the law will not control it. I think so

Whether or not your country is legal, most countries in the world are legal, only a few are not!

In Montreal, Canada, there are some restaurants that accept Bitcoins as a currency to pay your restaurant bill, so I guess it is, at least for Canada and U.S. I cant say the same for other country but I wish that I was of an help. Have a good day!

you are right,those county is not allow bitcoin for the peoples.its hardly prohibited those county.from which county you are? If you mention the county it will be easier to find out the county information about bitcoin legacy.

First of all you need to mention which country are you from and it depends in many countries it is neutral neither legal nor illegal.

Bitcoin is legal and it be use throughout the world is the best way

It's legal if the government of a particular country will not decide otherwise

It all depends on the government of particular country

It's legal, but depends on regulation by the government. It seems that if a county doesn't have a law about something, officials do not know what to do. Especially with the taxes, because in most cases authorities have no clue how to classify this asset, as well as a profit you get by trading, exchanging or just investing.

Based on what I have read, there is no law or regulation which states that bitcoin is legal or not. It is not totally accepted by some government since they hold their country's monetary system. Maybe because they fear that their own currency will no longer be patronized and used by their citizens.. On the other hand, there are some countries which accept bitcoin (or other cryptocurrencies). In conclusion, the legitimacy of bitcoin depends on what country you're from. Conduct some research and know if your country is included in those which accepts bitcoin.

No in my country, bitcoin is not legal. Only use bitcoin online and no use bitcoin to buy something.

Where on the internet or news did you heard that Bitcoin is illegal in Singapore? It's just that the government is warning people not to invest in Bitcoin as it seem like a hype train. They didn't ban the use or trade of Bitcoin here. In fact, Singapore is a tech-savvy country.

It follows this logic: neither legal nor illegal in most of the countries. In terms of law, if something is not prohibited by law, than it's legal. The question is 'but what if there is no legal act?'. Well, let's say you throw a cigarette and there is no law punishing that. A policeman comes and says you need to be punished and you ask for the legal act that you have broken. It does not exist, so obviously you did not break anything. The same applies to bitcoin.

In Japan it is legal, because there is a law about cryptocurrencies making them legal. In South Korea, it is legal but you need to identify yourself. Some other countries may just ask the holders and traders to identify themselves, so that they can track the illegal usage of cryptocurrencies. Otherwise, i don't think governments will totally ban bitcoin.  ;) 

Yes its a complex question having even complexer reason which I don't know LOL

You need to read about it on internet cause it depend where you are living, in 100% you will find info about bitcoin legal or not in almost whole countries on net.

in some countries, bitcoin may already be legal
but in my country considered ilegal.
but I'm sure that bitcoin is a great opportunity to earn an income

Many countries have issued statements indicating that bitcoin and other digital currencies are not regulated and do not exist as officially sanctioned currencies: a status that could put users at risk but would not have them violating any laws. Bitcoin is outright illegal in some countries, such as Iceland.

Bitcoin is not legal yet in most of the countries but that doesn't mean that it's illegal. However, if you are using Bitcoin (or any other thing) for illegal activities like weapon trading or drug dealing then it will be considered as illegal activity irrespective of the legality status in your country. Governments are still in the wait and watch mode and they are doing a research to roll out regulations regarding it.

Hello. Please refer to the link provided. Hope you will learn.

Is bitcoin legal?
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1138608.0

Is bitcoin legal
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1052222.0

Because legalisation of btcs will turn down tax incomes and base income of Govt and fiats so they will never be made legal

I think the growing access of hackers and terrorists in btc ecosystem might have forbidden govt to take such steps

Yes it is legal, but in some countries it is illegal they consider it illegal

Well on the one hand some countries claimed bitcoin to be illegal, while on the other hand bitcoin should not be defined by the current law systems.

It strictly depends on the jurisdiction that you're residing in. For example in Venezuela - it's considered illegal while they are launching their own "cryptocurrency" called Petro.  ::)

As I read in several sources, bitcoin still not accepted in specific countries, but somehow in some countries allows the individuals and business to work legally with bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies.

I didn't heard it has been illegal in any country, its just not legal but that does not means its illegal

The legalization of bitcoin depends on the country in which you live. There are also many countries that bitcoin is already used and it is legal. Like in the country of United states, canada, china, hongkong, japan, thailand, Singapore and much more. But there are some countries considered bitcoin are illegal and there are against of using it like Bangladesh, bolivia, algeria with a designated penalty that if  you do not obey their law they can bring you to jail.

If many people uses bitcoin in your country, that means it's legal. And even if your country bans bitcoin and the rest of cryptocurrencies, bitcoin is still LEGAL at all means. There are just countries that ban cryptocurrencies because it is against their government rules and thus, not so open minded to embrace the technology.

if you manage to pay tax on the sale of Bitcoins to the tax bracket, then everything will be fine.

I think it depends on your country. Because some countries' government prohibited them.

where you from? ::)

It’s understandable to have questions about the legality of using Bitcoin. The platform introduced a brand new paradigm away from the traditional regulators and regulations that govern fiat currency. Unlike illegal, counterfeit money, which is a blatant example of a “currency” that misrepresents itself as legal tender, Bitcoin is entirely different. Nevertheless, it operates in a seemingly gray area when it comes to regulation. However, many of these concerns boil down to misunderstandings or a lack of concrete rules that govern Bitcoin, rather than overt violations of the law.

The question surrounding the relationship between Bitcoin and the law really depends on how the digital currency is being used.

Every single fiat currency in the world is created, released and controlled by a single entity – in most cases a central bank. By law, ordinary citizens are only allowed to buy, sell or keep the currency. If someone tries to create any amount of money, they will inevitably find themselves behind bars.

When Bitcoin was introduced, it created a completely new and unique paradigm. The world’s first digital, decentralized currency that isn’t controlled by anyone at all. Moreover, the very concept of Bitcoin implies that anyone with enough computing power can create coins by simply being an active part of the community.

As it’s becoming more and more mainstream, law enforcement agencies, tax authorities and legal regulators all over the world are trying to wrap their heads around the concept of cryptocurrency and where exactly does it fit in existing regulations and legal frameworks.

The legality of Bitcoin depends on who you are, where you are in the world, and what you’re doing with it. Here’s our guide on legal issues concerning Bitcoin, where we mostly focus on the US but cover other major countries as well

Btcs are a beta topic which is still under experiments in real world so its not yet enforced properly

To summarize everything.....Bitcoin is like a money of course because we give value to it and also it depends on your country, your government, and how you use it in the internet since bitcoin is the major or mainstream cryptocurrency as if it can be called "The Internet's Currency" so Bitcoin can be used in many ways and so like our physical money.

depends on the country. i know in china, you can't actually hold Bitcoins (or any other cryptos for that matter). you have to go through a service that buys and holds for you

The use of cash surrogates involves a high level of risk, primarily due to their unsecured assets, lack of uniform regulation of the issue and legally binding entity. The anonymous nature of the activities for the production of cash surrogates unlimited range of subjects creates conditions for the involvement of citizens and legal entities in illegal activities, including legalization (laundering) of income,this opinion is the famous economist of the Russian Federation, the Transfer of such funds in the currency will be considered illegal and a crime

* Bitcoin is currently the most widely used currency in the world , many Bitcoin investors when they first learn about Bitcoin are asking such questions as " "Bitcoin is scam or multi-level?", leading to the fear of trading Bitcoin. Many people seek self-regulation of Bitcoin, the Bitcoin business

* Is Bitcoin the virtual currency? Is there any other name?

According to the California-Irvine College of Technology and Financial Studies, there is a lot of controversy over this bitcoin virtual currency, especially about its name, how it is called, in its names, each expert. There is a way to call this currency such as: digital currency, digital currency, virtual currency, electronic currency, or cryptocurrency.

With the inventor of this kind of money, Satoshi Nakamoto, he calls Bitcoin money electronic cash, cash is understood in English as conventional money, it is like some kind of cash in casino that conveys its value through color In Satoshi's opinion, it is a conventional electronic money. It is not a multi-level fraud scheme that is simply unlawful, but not prohibited, of course Bitcoin trading, bitcoin digging is also not breaking the law.

In my country it is legal,and I know some country that bitcoin is legal also.I heard that the are countries that it is not legal.

Yes,for my opinion Bitcoin is the mother of all cryptocurrency..yes Bitcoin is legal,since 2009 Bitcoin is alive and start dip again.for those people or goverment politics  are saying Bitcoin is elligal..maybe they don't know really what's is cryptocurrency:) we are on digital era so follow your belief your are on the right path :)

wow, I am very impressed looking the wikipedia page that so many countries state that bitcoin is illegal :

Algeria, Bolivia, Ecuador, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Cambodia, Vietnam (as payment tool).

Anyway, it's very nice to see it is authorized in so many countries:)

its okay..this is not developed countrys, so...

It all depends on the policy of bitcoin provided by the government of a country. In some countries it legalizes the circulation and use of bitcoin in daily activities, but there are also countries that prohibit and consider bitcoin as an illegal currency. Prohibitions made by each country were different. Some do not allow bitcoin to buy anything but may use it as an investment. There are also countries that do not allow both. So we can conclude that the bitcoin is legal or not based on the regulation of bitcoin in our country of residence.

In each country, one or another body regulates the legality of Bitcoin, but you will see that many financial bodies are interested in Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, along with regional regulators.

I hate the fact that this is even a question. There should be some kind of rules to prevent abuse of cryptocurrencies but otherwise the benfits for everyone are just too great to make it illegal anywhere//

Not every country legalling Bitcoin, so it's depend on where do you live. A country that ilegally Bitcoin is China, depends on G20 result.

In my country this is not illegal because there is already banks who are accepting bitcoin meaning our society and government accept bitcoin here, so there is no problem for us to use btc it is free to use here. While some countries banned btc I believe btc is already illegal there.

Depends from the country where you use it

I think it is legal but not yet regulated. Legal does not mean it was created by the government but Legal because it is not illegal, simple.

try to find government regulations in your region that govern the digital currency

Just like what everyone did mention here, it depends in the country your at. Main reason is because government won’t allow it because of how bitcoin can turn physical money down. That’s why banks are giving governments a heads up that they will get a lot of disadvantage if bitcoin comuunity grows. But we won’t stol there, we should stay big and get bigger. So governments can also see the values and advantages of cryptocurrencies.

Each country is individual. One must be very careful and know well the laws in the country of residence. For example, there are countries that have accepted cryptocurrency and are simply trying to regulate it. For example, Belarus.

Its depends on your country. In my country its ilegal because its risky for abuse.

Bitcoin is not managed by the government, but they can ban it. This depends on the country you live in. Currently there are some countries banned bitcoin, but I believe, the future they will cancel the ban, for its great benefit.

I think bitcoin could be legal if the government legalizes bitcoin as an international currency. but in my opinion, now bitcoin is legal to use because bitcoin is easy to use even already many web that use bitcoin as a means of payment. and this makes it easier for us to transact using bitcoins instead of having to use a credit card.

Bitcoin legal in some country and illegal in other country and that depends on the financial laws of the country where you live if he authorizes bitcoin or not

It's depended on where you live. In some country, Bitcoin is legal, Japan is one example, but in some other countries, Bitcoin is illegal. You can learn your government law to know if Bitcoin is legal in your country.

The legality of Bitcoin varies from country to country. In some countries, Bitcoin is legal and in some countries, it's not.

Digital money to be legal means of payments.
I know Russia they legalised bitcoin.law ammends Russia's civil code
To create a basis for legal reactions in the digital economy
The new law cryptocurrencies  are referred to as a digital money.

It is not illegal instead it is not a valid currency in many countries like the dollar is not valid currency in Japan. You can use Bitcoin but have to pay the taxes for the profits you earned on that. :)

I think bitcoin is a freedom from government and bank system. And if they affraid - they make it illegal, but if you stay quiet and anonymous, you can use it for your own (small) buisnes and no matter legal or not. At least i know what bitcoin is not a virus or some malware and this is enough for me to say it's legal for computer world.

As the market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market shoots up, through price movements and a surge in new tokens, regulators around the world are stepping up the debate on oversight into the use and trading of digital assets.

This affects all cryptocurrencies, but especially bitcoin, given its market leadership and integration into the global startup ecosystem.

Very few countries have gone as far as to declare bitcoin illegal. That does not, however, mean that bitcoin is "legal tender" - so far, only Japan has gone as far as to give bitcoin that designation. However, just because something isn't legal tender, does not mean that it cannot be used for payment - it just means that there are no protections for either the consumer or the merchant, and that its use as payment is completely discretionary.

Other jurisdictions are still mulling what steps to take. The approaches vary: some smaller nations such as Zimbabwe have few qualms about making brash pronouncements casting doubts on bitcoin's legality. Larger institutions, such as the European Commission, recognize the need for dialogue and deliberation, while the European Central Bank (ECB) believes that cryptocurrencies are not yet mature enough for regulation (although with bitcoin almost 10 years old, one is left wondering when we will know it has reached sufficient maturity). In the United States, the issue is complicated further by the fractured regulatory map - who would do the legislating, the federal government or individual states?

Very interesting list - the less country is democratic - the more it is likely to allow circulation of Bitcoin. Does that say something? I don't know.

Depends on which country you live in. In my country it is still legal  but it is banned in many countries, as the government's have their different concerns with it.

Bitcoin is legal in most of the countries. It depends in which country you are trading. You can check the link to see if it is legal in your proximity, https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3341323.0. I hope it has answered your question.

Of course Bitcoin are legal, But there are some countries that bitcoin is ban. All i can is its depend upon your country. Try read in other threads there are so many threads about bitcoin and you can learn how bitcoin use and earn.

In most countries yes it is legal and others due to governments not knowing how to regulate it is is legal within certain perameters so there will be certain restrictions with the use of it but if you use it in countries like Algeria, Bolivia, Ecuador etc where there are bans in place for the use of Digital currencies it will be illegal for a more detailed outline where it is illegal you should look at the link below.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_bitcoin_by_country_or_territory (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_bitcoin_by_country_or_territory)

If in countries that do not support bitcoin is there a way for me to exchange? ??? ??? ???

Everyone’s confused Bitcoin is neither legal nor illegal in India.

Depens only on the country regulation.

Bitcoin is.legal some country bt most of the country try to ban bitcoin foreover.Now bitcoin get negative news  from different country and organization and some people also hapoy  because they hope bitcoin will be zero one day..

Bitcoin is legal or not, depending on where you live. Where I live, the investment and use of bitcoin is completely legal and no law regulates it.

Other country other rules, in my country bitcoin is Neutral not illegal or legal, some country legal and illegal. Bitcoin illegal but other people still use bitcoin for payment

Bitcoin is legal in some countries and some countries prohibits it, so it just depends on where you are staying.

It is legal in some countries, but some countries don't accept the use of cryptos

Bitcoin is legal or not depends on the government where you live. If governments say it's legal, then it's legal. With the many benefits that bitcoin brings, it is difficult for the government to consider bitcoin as illegal. For where I live, bitcoin trading is completely legal.

Government always want to control their people? I find that notion as funny whenever people in the crypto space use it out of context. I am all for decentralization and taking banks/financial institution as they are just bad. With the current crypto space, the scams, the blatant manipulation, if things stay the same, one would wish for the govt control rather!!

Bitcoin is legal almost everywhere. If it's illegal in your home country just try the next one its not!! lol ;D ;D ;D

It depends on where youre living. In some countries, governments do anything to ban crypto, while in others it's totally acceptable to use, trade and own bitcoin/crypto.

Bitcoin currency is not listed in the banking system and is not related to the government. All exchanges are recorded in a distributed ledger called blockchain.

That depends on country or ever a region of living in some places in world, unfortunately there are more and more regulations being made about crypto, in future it could be even illegal to use them in some parts of world.

To answer you question, If there is a law punishing a person of using bitcoin, then bitcoin is illegal however if there is no law punishing of using it, therefore bitcoin is legal.

I want to join too early actually still in kedaan was puzzled as between it's illegal or legal, but after I asked a further question-it turns out it's not legal and not a "Backbiting" as well, so it's still in a State of safe

There is no law banning bitcoin so I can say it is legal. It is because of the false information that people spread that people think it is fake or not legal.

Yeah, it is very legal except in some few countries. At this point bitcoin has an ATM, not sure how it works but be rest assured that it would give the money you need if all things be equal.

Its totally depends on your own government if they say its legal    then legal no doubt.

some people think its legal.  some people are not.
so I think its both. you know all of things have a good and a bad side.
so why not btc 😊😆😆

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_bitcoin_by_country_or_territory (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_bitcoin_by_country_or_territory)

Bitcoin is legal depending on the country. There are many countries that prohibit bitcoin and you should find out if your country is prohibited from bitcoin.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_bitcoin_by_country_or_territory

It really depends on the legislation in a specific country and what are the definitions e.g. of a currency and a virtual currency. In general, there is no reason to tell it's illegal if there are no direct legal rules that prohibit it.

I have to say there is no single answer about this question , because of in some countries , it's legal , such as USA . But in some countries , it's forbid to trade them , such as China and I don't know why he has to do that .