Bitcoin Forum

I  recently read in the gambling board that the Thailand Prime Minister is set to legalize gambling for an option to generate national revenue through its taxes after it has been lawfully pronounced illegal activity in the pasts.

Such a smart move opted me to digress on the thread  that those governments who had tagged Bitcoin an illegal developed technology in their various countries should have a rethink.
Behold they can not wave off the existence of Bitcoin entirely from the regions as their would always be numerous of Bitcoin enthusiasts mining and Investors making good profits on it anonymously.

And also those having the digital currencies for Alt payments using decentralized exchanges would be unstoppable and beyond the awareness of the government.

Meanwhile it could be a medium that if it is legalized, the government can make lucrative source of revenues on taxations to boost the economy maybe if they can set up interactive and responsive dialogues with the centralized exchanges.
I think such can only be actualized if the government authorities are amidst of scientific entrepreneurs.

Ironically, it is surprising that the governments that once condemned gambling and Bitcoin now see the potential for revenue generation in these industries. The world is constantly changing, and it seems that governments are beginning to recognize this.

Welcome to reality where it doesn't mean something is good for everyone to accept it including the government.
Though is Ironic when the government of under developing countries are still not adopting Bitcoin as a source of revenue  but is just how life is.
Not every Bitcoiners now were Bitcoiners a decade ago but not they come to know and believe the truth and this same to some nations who didn't adopt Bitcoin earlier but do now.
As Ironic as it seems like we became Bitcoiners late, in a decade from now others will consider us earlier adopters also.

This step has been implemented by the government in my country. At first Bitcoin trading was prohibited in my country and people who transacted it would be subject to sanctions, but after the regulation was issued, Bitcoin trading did not decrease, but instead increased, this became a concern for the government because they saw this as a problem that needs to be addressed because if it is legalized it will provide taxes to the state. And after that the government started to change their regulations and started to soften the regulation for Bitcoin and Altcoin trading, and started to legalize it (but only on regulated exchanges), and finally crypto trading in my country managed to bring in tens of millions of dollars in taxes in a year alone.
This is one example of how the legalization of Bitcoin trading can provide benefits for the country and this can be imitated by other countries.

It's impossible to mine Bitcoin anonymously where the country ban Bitcoin because they need to pay electricity cost, mining farm require high electricity to be operated, if the electricity officer feel there's something suspicious, they would cooperate it with police to check inside of your building.

Investors could making profit anonymously as long as they didn't sell through CEX, but they still need to report income tax and declare where the money comes from, this is where they lie. They could say they're freelancer or something like that.

You have a point here, but should the government legalize Bitcoin solely for the purpose of taxation?. The issue with governments that oppose Bitcoin is as a result of ignorance and a lack of interest in understanding what it truly defines.

Take El Salvador for example, we've witnessed the country's enthusiasm towards Bitcoin and how they've implemented strategies to promote its adoption, such as using geothermal energy for mining, introducing educational programs in schools, declaring it a legal tender, etc. El Salvador is not just aiming to make profit from Bitcoin taxation alone, but also from the things they've put on ground such as mining programs and others.

So, what I am trying to say is that if an anti-Bitcoin government decides to legalize Bitcoin solely for tax purposes, they should integrate it fully into the country's system, just as what El Salvador has done. At least, more tax revenue can go to their selfish pocket.

I also know of this that Bitcoin has been through tough times in Thailand and they are not encouraging for the use of crypto in the country, however, we can relate all these with the incidence of the US whereby they have also been raking attacks upon bitcoin network and now everything seems to be turning around against them, because they have realized the potential they could get as edge over the adoption of bitcoin even at the pursuit of their career in politics, now maybe its turn over for the Thailand government to have a rethink by adopting for bitcoin when they have several opportunities lying ahead of them if they do so, we should expect for more countries also in the meantime. 

Legalizing gambling is very different than legalizing crypto. Gambling is easier to manage for a government from taxation perspective. Whereas crypto is very difficult for taxation due to its anonymous nature. Gambling houses across the world are heavily regulated and taxed. Crypto is still finding its way.

Probably in a next couple of years we will see more countries coming forward and accepting cryptos. But for now, government cannot control its progress and transactions. That's the main roadblock here!

There are significant issues that are a bit of an issue with me, first the issue concerning government across board to allow the free flow of cryptocurrency activities, the truth is that most government will want to frown at Bitcoin activities and cryptocurrency and it's market, the thing is that they cannot control Bitcoin because of it's decentralized nature, and  we all know how CBN of most countries want to be incharge of every penny that is spent in their domain, and Bitcoin doesn't give them that privilege of such luxury, so to them it's not an entirely a win win situation for the government giving their authoritative nature.

So for this initiative you've suggested OP to work, the Governments who have tagged Bitcoin illegal before now, needs to come out open with clean mindset and embrace Bitcoin without any reservations of any sort, then they will begin to witness the Goodies that is associated with cryptocurrency.

I think these are very diverse fields to be brought in contrast with each other. The only connections your getting to make here is, having to have seen them as illegal but this isn't the vitals. The distinction between these field is that,

Gambling platforms are centrakized while,
Bitcoin is decentralized.

Now, it's easy for government to legalize Bitcoin because it exists within fhe realms of centralization which is what the government is about. They could be regulated with a high level of efficiency and parties to this are very well known.

When it comes to Bitcoin, government don't yet know how they could suck its sap and that makes acceptance really difficult. Although, they can start by regulating them centralized exchanges but, its just a part to the system and Bitcoin is fully functional without it.

Even so, we just have to keep hopes up but, the government haven't stopped individual adoption in a decade which makes them a not so relevant factor.

As the years transcend, it will be true to allude that many countries who are presently against the adoption of the bitcoin as a digital currency or a means of transaction will later agree to use the technology if they are exposed to more of the benefits of the bitcoin to their growing economies, they will end up tilting towards the acceptability of the bitcoin

The worst thing that will happen to Bitcoiners in a country is when the government bans its use. If the government criminalizes cryptocurrencies it will be difficult to freely engage in crypto endeavors secretly. Many people will not be willing to take the risk of using Bitcoin illegally. The best option for Bitcoiners in such situations is to move to a crypto-friendly country.


The US has been able to establish a sound regulatory framework to regulate the crypto industry. Many countries have not been able to have the same level of expertise in regulation, so they have decided to place a ban on it. We have been seeing an increase in the acceptance of Bitcoin in most countries through the approval of Spot Bitcoin ETF and hopefully, this move will move to other countries in the near future.

Central Bank (CB) is the right term, and each country has its own official name for it. The CBN is associated to the Nigerian Central Bank, while the US call theirs "Federal Reserve System (The Fed)" and so it varies in other countries.

Let us take a look at El Salvador, they did not just jump in for the tax money, they went all in. First they made it legal tender which is why the president is referred to as the first Bitcoin president. After that, they build infrastructure around it, even started mining with geothermal energy and added it to the curriculum in schools for kids to learn. This shows their interest in it.

So the thing is if a government wants to accept and implement a lot about Bitcoin then the =y should do it properly. Fully integrate it into the economy and actually support the ecosystem just like El Salvador did. Even if they are doing it for selfish reasons, at least it will still benefit them and the economy will row.

When El Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender, I thought other developing nations might follow suit. I hoped that my country, Nigeria, which according to chainalysis (https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/2023-global-crypto-adoption-index/) had the highest p2p transaction volume at the time, it made sense that our government would be interested in Bitcoin but reverse was the case or rather they were interested in banning citizens from crypto p2p transactions.

Bitcoin is a means to hedge against inflation but my government banned bitcoin because they believed it was the reason the currency was weakening. Unbelievable right? It was only recently that the ban was revoked and the government is warming up to the idea of Bitcoin.

it is surprising and equally disappointing because i always see nigeria as one of the countries most active in crypto spaces like here in crypto so it sucks if their government does not support the crypto enthusiasts in the country
lol who is gonna tell them that with or without bitcoin, it would not make their currency stop declining in value

restricting bitcoin is not the answer to their problems they are just letting themselves be left behind in terms of innovation and development

It doesn't take scientific entrepreneurs, if big country like the US legalize bitcoin and has shown positive impact, other country will instantly propose the same thing.

Adoption is as easy as that, the reason so many countries aren't taking advantage of bitcoin for the economy is because they are hesitant and afraid.

Eventually they will realize how beneficial bitcoin is.

One thing you should know is that bitcoin wasn't created by the government and they cannot regulate or control the price which gives them much reason not to support it. Anything that the government cannot use to benefit from the citizens through manipulation, they frown at it. Bitcoin gives them less power to control your financial life and the government wants to know about every penny that leaves and enter your account.

Bitcoin is not gambling and gambling is centralized, which makes it easy for some countries that banned it to reconsider lifting up the ban from gambling. They have cone to realize that it can be a source of revenue to the government.

But this narrative is changing in recent times. Although nations are not considering to make Bitcoin a legal tender but some of them are considering using it as a reserve currency. Lawmakers of some countries and states are making legislations that will make them buy and hold Bitcoin.

In order to have some level of control, some nations are making strict laws that will regulate crypto transactions in the their countries. Just as you rightly highlighted, Bitcoin is decentralized and cannot be controlled by a central authority but government can make laws to make it difficult to use it.

As decentralized as Bitcoin, most people choose to use Bitcoin in centralized way, making it easier for government to take action.

The government can create their own exchange and force people to use their exchange, if they use foreign exchanges, the banks will freeze the money.

This also applies to gambling, Thailand do legalize gambling, but not all people are gamble in their casinos, some of them might gamble on unauthorized online casinos.

Actually govt are not keen on Bitcoin cause it limit their monetary control.
Their main Itching is Bitcoin successfully dominating without any kind of central oversight, that's why they failed to regulate or tax transactions. Also, they failed to set monetary policy for the people due to its decentralized nature.

You know in Thailand the govt banned casinos for a long time. after years of ban, govt moving forward with casino because it boost their tourism sector and public coffers a lot. So when they somehow benefited, they allowed those banned activities. That is the core of the issue, govt doesn't like Bitcoin cause it sidesteps governmental control and revenue.


Yeah, Bitcoin is not a game of chance from any point of view, that is why when bitcoin faces friction, no one condemns about it. :)

It's easy to bypass the centralization. Trade Bitcoin using DEX, hold in non custodial wallet.

The government have no way to eliminate Bitcoin decentralization, it was never under their control, Bitcoiners always have a remedy of controlling their assets.

Governments can be picky, they can keep Bitcoin as a reserve but may not be fully bound to the system, this reason i am afraid for what the government can do if they keep the pace of legalizing and accumulating large portions of Bitcoin as reserves, not just one government becoming whale but sine it has become a new order for countries to adapt.

The good part of Bitcoin is that it wasn't made for government. It doesn't have government inclusiveness and the apparatus of control isn't what bitcoin is. Government can only start to embrace bitcoin because it is sleeping off them and they want to have a cake out of it by biting hard to tax institutions and business entities who are in business in their country like exchanges which are very easy to regulate, monitor and sanctioned if they don't remit income tax to them.

Government is looking at the business part of Bitcoin because they know that the actual control lies with the people. They can't stop P2P but can monitor business organizations because they are registered with them and would take directives from them. Taxing in Bitcoin may serve as income for government and create additional employment opportunities for people and I believe that is the benefit the government see that attracts them not that they are genuinely interested in the financial system that is independent of bank or out of their control.

In my opinion, if we look at it globally, Bitcoin is an enemy of the state and an enemy of the existing financial system. Therefore, I am not surprised that some government officials are strongly against the first cryptocurrency.

It should be noted that they have no real opportunity to ban or destroy Bitcoin. If Bitcoin is banned now, people will simply switch to more anonymous and confidential protocols (like Monero).

Therefore, attempts are being made to introduce Bitcoin into the existing financial system, regulate the first cryptocurrency, create derivatives based on Bitcoin (passing them off as Bitcoin), reduce the decentralization of the first cryptocurrency, lure real Bitcoin from users with the help of alternative currencies, memecoins, etc.

At the same time, in my opinion, the authorities and those in power will not be able to completely regulate and subordinate Bitcoin. Their strategic goals will not be achieved. The modern financial system is completely rotten through and through and no manipulation will help these people.

I think the logic should be simple. If you can't beat them, join them. Can they stop Bitcoin? Nope. Can they stop their people from getting into it? Nope. Is Bitcoin bad for the people? Nope. For the government? Not necessarily. So, what's all this resistance for? The bottom line is that there's no reason to put up a fight against Bitcoin.

If they're able to legalize gambling, which is generally bad, frowned upon by Buddhism, the country's dominant religion, all for the sake of money, then it's a lot easier for them to embrace Bitcoin.

You have strong point that Bitcoin is seen as threat to governments and traditional money systems. You are right that because Bitcoin is global and not controlled by any single entity it is very hard for governments to ban or destroy it. People would just switch to other private digital currencies. Instead of this governments are trying to control Bitcoin by regulating it creating related financial products and promoting other digital currencies all to weaken its original idea of being truly independent. And yes that authorities won't fully succeed because current financial system is flawed shows strong belief in Bitcoin ability to overcome traditional power.

This is already happening and they can't stop it from being in place, government have to realize the power of unity, respect on people's decisions and also support their views when it comes to dealing with what belongs to them, we can't be claiming of living in a modern and civilized world and still leave by olden days era of slavery.

Bitcoin is all about freedom and that was the main reason it was created to help the people take charge of handling their personal financial economy, the government first attacked on it, fight in many ways to kick against it, all because it's decentralized, but today as we have it now, they are left with no option than to join the train and get onboard.

You're only talking about the usage of Bitcoin, it's correct you can trade without need government intervention. But, most people convert their coins to fiat, which they need a help of banking system. This is where the government can know if you hold Bitcoin or not.

They can track who sent the money to you, they can ask what the way you get that money etc.

It's easy if you only buy and hold Bitcoin, but very difficult when you want to sell it.

Bitcoin was not made for the government, but we cannot deny the fact that government creating an enabling environment for it's adoption in the country contribute a lot to it's adoption since citizens and local industries can invest into it without being skeptical about government clampdown.

Every wise government should know that Bitcoin is a strong source of revenue to the country. Government cannot centralize Bitcoin, they only try to regulate it as much as they can, people can still maintain anonymity by using DEX platforms or third party service that help increase anonymity while dealing with Bitcoin.

You're right. A Buddhist dominated country as that shouldn't be expected to establish such changes about gambling in the country in a quick manner as this. But we have to accept a very unique aspect that influences policy changes in government, which is, changes in policy has a lot to do with the perspectives of the individuals in power and those perceptions in turn reshapes a lot of policies such as this we are witnessing with Thailand PM decision on gambling operations in their country.

You just uncovered one of the harshest and most untold truths the desire to preserve Bitcoin not for the people, but for the big fishes. But the reality is, Bitcoin is the future of economic salvation. Our entire system has been corrupt ever since we started using paper money with no gold backing. They're printing money endlessly, and we’ve become silent, unwritten slaves to that system.

Now that they see Bitcoin as a technology where monopoly simply can't survive, they're desperately trying to accumulate as much of it as possible to gain some level of control. Let them try  they won’t succeed. Bitcoin is built to bloom regardless.

It’s not just about gaining industrial acceptance so they can manipulate it  it’s because they need to acquire it. The earlier they get in, the more they stand to benefit. But that doesn’t mean they’ll win.

It's becoming really relevant for some government and individuals that they want to increase their understanding about crypto risks and opportunities.So far,some authorities have shown signs to not be against Bitcoin financial systems.

In honesty, most of the time religious sentiments or values actually do matter a lot to common citizens but to the elite or to be specific to the politicians it definitely doesn’t hold waters there religion believe is simply what will help in achieving there goals or earn them profits. Aside Thailand there are also some countries with strong religious beliefs that have had the gambling platforms or casinos allowed in their countries if only they actually regulated, not that this regulation will do anything better but it will generate them more money and that’s what they are after.

Why not bitcoin is the question, and I say they are countries government that are simply against bitcoin because of fear that they can’t control the currency or because they fear it will create competition for their local currency not that they don’t actually know the real value of it. But gradually we will see it inception too

Every government are seeking for a medium they can raise funds to be able to establish or achieve certain infrastructural development especially for projects that are capital intensive. And for a moment they just have to set aside some religious sentiments and be logical and work with the available means to raising such needed funds.

In the aspect of bitcoin, we know that the lack of ability to control the currency has been behind the abhorrent attitude of many governments towards it. They accept gambling not just because of the tax they can raise from it but that they can as well regulate it's operations.