Bitcoin Forum

When they say countries banned these bitcoins, what happens when you log into Binance or Coinbase from the banned countrY?

No access somehow?  Why not use a VPN and access exchanges that way????  or TOR browsers

Confused what it means to "ban" coins because I am in the USA.... any inputs??

I haven't been into a country that banned bitcoin. But I think it depends on how knowledgeable the ministry of that country that focuses on monitoring those websites related to bitcoin/cryptocurrencies.

Yes, they can use it. I've seen some people who have been using and accessing to bitcoin/crypto sites from banned countries and I think they were using VPN.

You don't have to think of it if you are in a free country.

I have never used Binance so wouldn't know but I am using Coinbase since a long time now. My country had declared bitcoin as "not legal tender" last year which is not very similar to banning. So till date I haven't faced any issue while using coinbase.

However, if Coinbase decides to ban traffic from my country in future, probably I will have to use VPN or TOR browser. But at the same time I will have to ensure that I do not transact very huge amount of money through them. Otherwise they might ask for kyc verification.

In my country, the legal status of cryptocurrency has not yet been determined, but deals using bitcoin and ethereum have been made more than once. And also there are no problems with any of the exchanges - I can enter and trade. But I heard that there are countries in which for any actions with cryptocurrency people can go to prison for several years (Nepal, Bangladesh, Algeria and Bolivia).

I too haven't encountered such issue till date, on accepted countries there isn't any issue, but with countries that don't allow if we try to do something then it'll affect the growth of the market. If VPN is used while accessing Binance and you face any issues we cannot claim it is always a varied process to request help from them and surely there'll ignorance.

In my country we still don't have regulation about Bitcoin.
Just central bank issued public statement that bitcoin is not currency or financial asset.
So, I guess bitcoin is not banned officially but I worry what may happen in the future.

I would however think of it when comes the time my government will start banning. I have some accounts to different  exchanges so if it means the exchange will also ban me from using the exchange it would mean my funds are locked. That would be a horrible thing to happen to someone.

But I suppose Binance was up when china banned BTC?

It's in their country's legislation. It doesn't necessarily mean that they aren't able to access it.

Most of the time, I don't think you even need a VPN to access bitcoin and facilitate transactions on the network. But while you are doing this you risk legal repercussions. Same thing applies to international exchanges which potentially have ceased to offer their services to the banned states/countries.

There are actually certain states in the US that most likely have some sort of restriction on bitcoin transactions on a state level due to the fact that I see some states being singled out in the ToS of bitcoin exchanges. So it's definitely a worldwide thing.

It's there law so I think as long as you don't broadcast your identity as a bitcoiner in the public, no one will question you to the police. And fortunately, VPN's are invented. Because of it, internet browsing has lead to more private use. So, if some governments do really want to ban crypto, they should cut the internet itself, which is almost impossible to implement.

The main problem on this even you can access cryptocurrency which is banned on a certain country!
You will be in trouble once they questioned your money transactions.
Like in USA, your money is being track on your bank on where it is from or where did you earned it.

In most countries the government is yet to decide about bitcoin and the legacy of it in their country and that's because they have thing more important to that than concerning about bitcoin right now since it's not used by such a big number of people. I'm not sure, but I think some countries have stated their intentions regarding bitcoin and cryptocurrencies and that's why some platforms have also banned those countries firm using them. If you are in a country where bitcoin is not seen as a good thing then you might have problems when you complete transactions with banks that are related to bitcoin because your bank account could be blocked. That's why some websites do not allow people from certain countries to register.

To simplify it let's remember what happened in China when Bitcoin was banned, all trading platforms operating in China moved to another country or closed.
So those affected by this ban are the countries in which the platform or BTC-linked businesses are located, not the network as a whole.
The risk to individuals is small if you use a well-designed wallet.

If the USA bans bitcoin, It will probably not happen overnight and be a giant surprise....

i'm pretty sure connecting through TOR would make an exchange nearly unusable. it's also liable to get your account flagged for security review, what with the constant changes in login location.

i don't think exchanges really care about "banned" countries anyway. these countries like algeria and bolivia are in no position to come after binance.

binance only cares if your country is on a sanctions list. if so, i'm not sure VPN or TOR would save you. there are various possible privacy leaks in these protocols, and you could just get hit with an account review and have KYC demanded from you anyway.

Then you can start asking and doing things when it's already there.

And about China, AFAIK they didn't ban bitcoin but they banned ICO's. People there still hold bitcoin and they aren't afraid of using it.

(https://cryptonomist.ch/en/2018/08/28/ico-ban/)
(https://www.coindesk.com/chinas-ico-ban-understandable-reasonable-probably-temporary)

Banned because their governments don't recognize the legitimacy of trading cryptocurrencies in their own state-issued currency, or they simply don't want to mess with cryptocurrencies just yet. Just look at China and India with their stance on bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general.


VPN is a workaround, though your requirements and documents for KYC cannot be tampered with, and some of these exchanges comply with other governments' regulations and rules regarding cryptocurrencies so I guess VPN is not a long-standing solution. Moving out of the said country with restriction in trading cryptocurrencies is still the best bet.

Sooner or later, I think Coinbase or other exchanges will ban VPN address to. The next solution would be P2P trading, which might take time and effort to make a deal.

It's sad that to be able to use crypto we have to move from our country, that cost me more than what crypto give me if that ever happened.

99% of the times it is called spreading FUD (fear uncertainty and doubt). because it usually is a lie.

it depends on whether they have actually banned bitcoin or was it a lie and also what kind of "ban".
there are a lot of different cases. when it is a lie (FUD) then nothing happens.
when it is banks banning their users from using exchanges (like India) nothing happens, you can still continue using exchanges but you won't be able to transfer fiat with those banks, so you have to change banks.
in rare cases (like 2 or 3 countries) that the government has actually banned usage of bitcoin, going to exchanges and trading with bitcoin can have consequences depending on the laws of that particular country which you need to research case by case.

that could work as long as those exchanges don't ask for any KYC stuff you can freely use VPN or TOR and connect and enjoy using them.

It is illegal to use cryptocurrencies in those countries from my view of point. For example, let's take online gambling banned by many countries for protecting cash flow to foreign states. Using a VPN is a temporary solution, what will happen if a person gets caught by officials?

As a long-term goal we should overcome this paradigm. If you find a way to ban crypto, be sure that we'll find a solution - but it shouldn't work like this. By banning, I believe states want to hide internal problems. When your hear banning, it sounds like something bad; illegal - but it's a huge differencee between illegal and bad.

When they said a country have banned cryptocurrency what it really is that the government does not recognized cryptocurrency as a legal tender and at that it taking measures to curtail all cryptocurrency activities because it seen as illegal activities, but in at that one can use some other means to take part in cryptocurrency activities but in doing you have to be careful and use software that can hide your identity.

In most cases it concerns gambling. Coinbase for example will suspend your account if you send funds to a gambling site, and they have pretty sophisticated tools to exactly know what gambling site you're sending funds to. It still happens that it catches people by surprise, but they should know that at least within the states, Coinbase is very tight with its policies.

It always has been one of the bravest exchanges in the space, so unless you're a total newbie and don't read the terms before registering, you should be aware of this.

If you're within a jurisdiction that doesn't allow the use of crypto at all, I'm fairly sure the exchange won't let you purchase coins. They might not even let you register. This could cause them headaches down the line, kind of in the same vein of some ICOs not allowing US investors to buy in, with some of them even implementing IP filtering.

That being said, anything is possible if you don't get caught. You can freely use any VPN to gain access to certain exchanges and use them normally. It only becomes a problem when you're found out. Implementing bans over the internet is very hard to pull off in practice, so it should be fairly easy to get away with anything related for as long as you know what you're doing.

My country is neither for nor against bitcoin, you simply just trade at your own risk. Am okay with this, the government doesn't want to bear any responsibility. If I were in a country that bans bitcoin, I will just be using decentralized exchanges or I won't perform KYC, I will keep my trade low and stick to 24hrs maximum withdrawal without KYC. In as much as possible I would avoid exchanges that deals with KYC.

If a country pronounce ban on cryptocurrency, I think what it means is that it has become illegal to continue with cryptocurrency in that country and if found on it, the person will be punished for it. Also, the country on her part will do everything possible to restrict practice on it , including internet restriction.