Cryptocurrency Law in Bangladesh

[roksana.hee]

Bangladesh Bank has asked all to refrain from trading virtual currency. The banking regulator still does not allow or support the trading of any cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin. No legal authority in the world permits such trading, Bangladesh Bank said.

A piece of very detailed information is here:
https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/cryptocurrency-trading-not-allowed-all-bangladesh-bank-2140141

[avikz]

This is not new! Bangladesh's central bank made it very clear back in 2021 that they will not allow cryptocurrency in their country. They had issued multiple formal statements around this. You can refer to this PDF file below,

https://www.bb.org.bd/mediaroom/circulars/fepd/sep152022fepd24e.pdf

This one seems relatively new but if you find their list of circulars, you will find old files as well. Their stance has always been negative around cryptocurrency and it has not changed unfortunately.

[pawel7777]

...
A piece of very detailed information is here:
https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/cryptocurrency-trading-not-allowed-all-bangladesh-bank-2140141

I find it pretty hard to make sense of what's written in this article. After reading it, I still don't know whether you can or cannot hold or trade crypto in Bangladesh, and whether statements from their central bank are only recommendations or are they interpretations of existing laws and are legally binding.

The central bank's announcement came as confusion built after it sent a letter to the Criminal Investigation Department of the police that trading of cryptocurrencies cannot be considered apparently as a crime although virtual coins are illegal under the laws of the country.

This literally says that you can't hold any cryptos but it's not a criminal offense if you trade them  

To be fair, it's probably not the author of the article who's to blame, but just the Bangladeshi regulatory mess.

[virasog]

This literally says that you can't hold any cryptos but it's not a criminal offense if you trade them  

To be fair, it's probably not the author of the article who's to blame, but just the Bangladeshi regulatory mess.

I think that in most part of the world, the message is same from the governments, that is to stay away from crypto currencies. We can see why the government will never accept crypto currencies as it will just make the people strong, and government do not want that to happen.

Sadly, the Cryptocurrency laws are made by the governments, which are usually not much popular among the citizens and general public.

[bmwister]

...
A piece of very detailed information is here:
https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/cryptocurrency-trading-not-allowed-all-bangladesh-bank-2140141

I find it pretty hard to make sense of what's written in this article. After reading it, I still don't know whether you can or cannot hold or trade crypto in Bangladesh, and whether statements from their central bank are only recommendations or are they interpretations of existing laws and are legally binding.

The central bank's announcement came as confusion built after it sent a letter to the Criminal Investigation Department of the police that trading of cryptocurrencies cannot be considered apparently as a crime although virtual coins are illegal under the laws of the country.

This literally says that you can't hold any cryptos but it's not a criminal offense if you trade them  

To be fair, it's probably not the author of the article who's to blame, but just the Bangladeshi regulatory mess.

Cryptocurrencies are currently banned in Bangladesh because the government considers digital assets too risky and decentralized. In addition, cryptocurrency transactions are contrary to financial regulation and state law. In September 2014, the Central Bank of Bangladesh reported that two crypto-traders could be sentenced to long prison terms under a strict money-laundering law.

Looking at the regulatory and legislative framework, one can conclude that cryptocurrency is completely banned in Bangladesh and this is not a recommendation. It's just that for some reason this particular article says these are recommendations.

[yhiaali3]

Governments of countries in which there is significant political, economic and administrative corruption tend to permanently prevent dealing with cryptocurrencies and consider this a criminal offense, while more stable countries issue regulatory laws to regulate dealing with cryptocurrencies.

These governments want to fully control their citizens and prevent them from any form of freedom that cryptocurrencies give them, so they refuse to allow citizens any kind of dealing with these cryptocurrencies.

But in reality, this will not prevent citizens from dealing in cryptocurrencies in secret. And this is the stupidity of governments because they will lose taxes that they could easily get.

[pawel7777]

Governments of countries in which there is significant political, economic and administrative corruption tend to permanently prevent dealing with cryptocurrencies and consider this a criminal offense, while more stable countries issue regulatory laws to regulate dealing with cryptocurrencies.

I suspect that, to a large degree, it's just a result of laziness. Whenever you have something new and potentially disruptive to the current system, embracing it and regulating would require a significant legislative effort, which less-developed countries are either unwilling to do, or just lack competent people with the right expertise.
On the flip side, a complete ban on cryptocurrencies would also require some effort, i.e. in defining what cryptocurrencies actually are (i.e. would the ban cover any form of trading any digital goods/tokens?). So often times they end up with some weird half-bans when they just instruct banks not to support any crypto-related transfers etc.

[jossiel]

I saw other co-forum members that have shared that they're from Bangladesh and said that bitcoin/crypto there is totally banned, they don't want to be against the law and they're just like hiding in shadows while continuing with their involvement in trading and earning of bitcoin.

The latter part of what the Bangladesh said;

No legal authority in the world permits such trading, Bangladesh Bank said.

We all know that there are countries that have permitted it and that's why there are exchanges existing and keeps on operating helping users like us to convert and trade our cryptos to cash and vice versa.

[YOSHIE]

A piece of very detailed information is here:
https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/cryptocurrency-trading-not-allowed-all-bangladesh-bank-2140141

I am not sure of the law stated by Bank of Bangladesh or Bangladeshi authorities about banning crypto or Bitcoin.

The news that you show here is July 29, 2021, in my opinion that news is out of date, I see Bangladeshi authorities implementing rules and laws that change every time against crypto users, the proof is that I saw the latest news February 2023.
Link: Best Forex Trading Brokers in Bangladesh

Is Bitcoin available in Bangladesh?

Bitcoin is available in Bangladesh, which has an extensive peer-to-peer network. The popularity of cryptocurrencies has started to attract international cryptocurrency exchanges to Bangladesh. Traders can also take advantage of cryptocurrency CFDs provided by their Forex brokers.

Fact, Bitcoin and crypto users in Bangladesh can still use Bitcoin and can buy/sell.

conclusion: yes, Bitcoin is legal in all countries.

[Zlantann]

I am not sure of the law stated by Bank of Bangladesh or Bangladeshi authorities about banning crypto or Bitcoin.

The news that you show here is July 29, 2021, in my opinion that news is out of date, I see Bangladeshi authorities implementing rules and laws that change every time against crypto users, the proof is that I saw the latest news February 2023.
Link: Best Forex Trading Brokers in Bangladesh

Is Bitcoin available in Bangladesh?

Bitcoin is available in Bangladesh, which has an extensive peer-to-peer network. The popularity of cryptocurrencies has started to attract international cryptocurrency exchanges to Bangladesh. Traders can also take advantage of cryptocurrency CFDs provided by their Forex brokers.

Fact, Bitcoin and crypto users in Bangladesh can still use Bitcoin and can buy/sell.

conclusion: yes, Bitcoin is legal in all countries.

It looks like there is no law that explicitly banned the use or trading of cryptocurrencies in Bangladesh. The government might restrict it's agencies from dealing with these virtual coins but the citizens are not restricted from buying or selling them. There are many exchanges operating in Bangladesh and I am sure they have the licences to operate issued by the government. Since it is not a criminal offence to use cryptocurrencies according to the law, the government is just trying to regulate it's use and not necessarily criminalizing it.

Most of these government officials just base their decisions on hearsays or rumours. They are not willing to study and understand the Bitcoin space, they just copy and replicate policies they get from most these international lending organizations. If they are openhearted to learn about this innovation, they will be able to comprehend that Bitcoin has the potential of freeing them from the financial oppression and colonialisation of developed nations.

[rat03gopoh]

The latter part of what the Bangladesh said;

No legal authority in the world permits such trading, Bangladesh Bank said.

We all know that there are countries that have permitted it and that's why there are exchanges existing and keeps on operating helping users like us to convert and trade our cryptos to cash and vice versa.

A small portion of market cap is contributed from the Bangladesh currency, currently ranked 109th (8,415 BTC)^[1] out of 116 contributing countries. If one assumes these statistics actually reflect the current state of affairs, then there are a number of "illegal transactions" involving more than 8k BTC made by Bangladeshis. This means that there is a loophole in the bitcoin trading ban.


1. https://fiatmarketcap.com

[Lucius]

~snip~
This means that there is a loophole in the bitcoin trading ban.

I wouldn't really trust the data from the source you mentioned, because it is inexplicable that China is at the top, and we know that BTC trading has been banned there for years. Of course, no one will dispute that there are ways to buy BTC without the authorities finding out, but the extent to which this happens in a particular country is just speculation.