I am stopping for legal reasons. Is it really worth the trouble?

[Maestro75]

You've been accepting bitcoin as a payment condition will not affect you even though the government enforces law into your environment so what I want to inform you is that it is the very difficult to see a country that bitcoin is legal or cryptocurrency is legal but I know quite well that Bitcoin if you receive the payment you can able in converted to usd and also to your country currency pro series of exchanges operational so I will advise you to continue to accept a cryptocurrency as part of payment

Receiving bitcoin for payment for a job done is not a problem from what the Op explained but to trade it as a business is the problem. If you follow his comment you will realise that he does a type of cryptocurrency exchange as a trader. If your country government declares anything illegal, it is bad to expose yourself to it. Government does not have the power to stop you from accepting cryptocurrency provided you are not exchanging it as business. Bangladesh is a very corrupt country like most of the Africa countries where checks and balances are not monitored.

[1714594981]

1714594981

[Raflesia]

This is what I often say about some people who do have the same desire as the OP by running their business and accepting bitcoins especially for some Nigerian friends I've seen threads on.

We still cannot fight the condition of government regulation and with this it is indeed better to avoid it than to do something that is really not really wanted which will actually backfire in the end.
Including bitcoin as a payment option is a good thing but the problem with regulation and government policy remains that it will be very difficult to do.

[CryptoBuds]

I was shocked when I read the news about the Bangladesh ban on cryptocurrency last week but I don't know if the movement will be this fast. If you know that accepting cryptocurrency as payment leads you into trouble is better you stop but if your business is something that has to do with online then you have the option to offer p2p services.

I see that as a regular thing, although bitcoin has become more popular in recent years as more institutions and countries claim to accept it. But it is still being completely banned in some countries, and many countries have not legalized it nor have any regulations for it.

I think OP should stop all forms of accepting bitcoins or cryptos, including P2P, don't try to be smart and find ways to go against the government, getting rid of bitcoin won't affect his business. If he tries to circumvent the law and is found out, the cost is very high, even in prison, I think it is not worth the risk.

[Despairo]

And this is only if the government hasn't already turned so-called p2p platforms into honeypots.

P2P is used to stop a CEX from having all your data and IDs, it's not able to completely erase all your tracks unless you deal with a complete stranger in fiat every time.

I think exchange with a complete stranger in fiat every time is also leave a trace, it's really risky if someone want to hide Bitcoin transaction from the government. The best way the @OP need to wait until his country unban Bitcoin, move to other country which accept Bitcoin or he can convert his BTC to stable coin using Bisq if he's want to trade Bitcoin. If he's want to cash out his Bitcoin to fiat in other country, he shouldn't use his bank account or anything that link his real identity, he should use digital wallet which only require phone number verification on that's country.

[Mr.right85]

It's not a secret as to how governments of the world have put efforts to hamper the development of bitcoin or virtual assets around the world and they take there toll on most of us still, affecting our usage and the way we exercise our freewill about these assets. It's just bad but, what else can we do than to abide by the regulations. If looking out for yourself would mean abstaining from using it in your daybto day transaction as a payment media then by all means do.

Still, I'll encourage that, this don't be a stop from taking bitcoin investments. You can and should still do some investing on the sidelines.

These guys (government) treats those innovative project as though it was some vice. Its just sad!

[yazher]

They are not consistent with their policies, and probably it will cause more trouble if you will still accept crypto as a payment, for now follow their regulations and just stay in the market on your own. We are still far from this scenario where you can freely accept cryptocurrency as a payment without worrying about the regulations, many countries are still making this hard to adopt. Bitcoin will still prevail and time will come, just continue doing your business as usual.

It's better to be safe than sorry later because once you are in the police's custody, you will gonna have a really hard time explaining to them you are innocent and when you are unlucky, they put some heavy loads on you by putting some other case on you. It's better to lay low for now and do your business without engaging in any cryptocurrency-related matters because when they sent you those letters, maybe you are already been red-tagged and by showing them you comply with their rules, there will be no problem in the future.

[Yogee]

This is sad man, but don't worry, I believe that mass adoption is coming and soon crypto will be regulated in some way and I think it would be allowed to freely use it in business. But until then, we just need to wait. Best of luck to you!

It's nice to be positive and all but mass adoption in Bangladesh looks like a wishful thinking right now. It seems the regulators have made their stance pretty clear and the only way for them to change their policy is for people like the OP to challenge the proclamation in a legal manner. Maybe some already did but lost or decision is still pending.

[AverageGlabella]

Why has  Bangladesh  banned btc? I thought they would be better regulating it and profiting from it instead of banning it seems like a stupid move by them because now they will lose out on the income. I do not know much about how they run things were they not taxing btc earnings? If not this might be positive news they might be banning the use of btc until they have decided on the laws and then unban it when they have the regulations figured out.

[sokani]

<....>

Op, do you have a registered crypto business in your country? and as a result of the ban on cryptocurrency activities in your country you are scared of pushing forward because you dont want to face the wrath of law enforcement agency. Well... all I can say it that you can still be doing a P2P trading and be getting paid. I'm from a country that places a ban on crypto but despite the ban people have been transacting with each other through P2P medium and I believe you can do same.

[D ltr]

a wise decision if you are a law-abiding person, even though as we know bitcoin payments can be made in various ways, but because you don't want to experience problems one day then stopping accepting payments with bitcoin is the right one in my opinion
and I think you can accept btc payments back when the government has made concessions for the adoption of bitcoin itself

[m2017]

Okay, you can't legally accept payments at bitcoin in your business and don't want to get in trouble with the law. But wait, you can be an investor, right? The authorities will not be able to find out if you have btc and therefore, you can buy btc with a portion of the profits generated by your business. Yes, this is bad because it doesn't allow the business to develop in the direction of cryptocurrencies, but it doesn't prohibit you from being an investor at all.

If you have such harsh laws, then it is unlikely that people will keep and use btc, which means that there will be almost no client in your business with btc. So, it's not that much of a hassle. It's easier for people to pay in cash, like in the good old days.

[stompix]

I think exchange with a complete stranger in fiat every time is also leave a trace, it's really risky if someone want to hide Bitcoin transaction from the government.

Unless you're doing it with an undercover officer or you're always doing it in the same place with cameras all around and you start drawing attention from either bank employees or security guards it's probably the safest thing. Really hard for somebody to even start tracing you and on what grounds at all.
The hard part is trying to hide your wealth cause if you buy a 50k car while unemployed, then all your secret dealings were a joke.

The best way the @OP need to wait until his country unban Bitcoin, move to other country which accept Bitcoin or he can convert his BTC to stable coin using Bisq if he's want to trade Bitcoin. If he's want to cash out his Bitcoin to fiat in other country, he shouldn't use his bank account or anything that link his real identity, he should use digital wallet which only require phone number verification on that's country.

He's not doing any of that, he accepted bitcoin for his business and now he stopped!
There is no solution for him, moving out of the country means losing his customers, and decentralized exchanges are of no help when you plan on accepting the currency as they don't protect you at all, there is simply no chance of him avoiding this the moment the authorities will enforce a complete ban and do punish lawbreakers. Again, this is only for the scenario where they actually care and enforce such a ban, but then all that is needed for him to get busted is a police officer coming into his shop asking him if he accepts bitcoin and there he has it, the moment he says yes it's game over!

[Smartprofit]

As many of you may have read my previous posts and know that I used to accept crypto in my business. I was waiting for a Bitcoin payment to happen because all others were in alts. I used to convert them to BTC. No big deal there. But recently I am facing some issue with this.

I had to stop accepting Bitcoin/ Crypto payments because Cryptocurrency is not legal here anymore. It was in a gray area for quite some reason, but recently the law department is making their move by putting crypto in a black area, thus declaring it illegal.

I don't wanna wind up in some illegal affairs, so I put a halt in the crypto payment section. From my point of view, this is the best option I am left with right now.  I have no idea when will I be able to continue, or will I ever be able to continue again. And this whole thing is not because of any complaint from the police or anything like that. I am doing this for my own safety and to continue with my business. They are putting people in jail if they know we possess crypto.

So it's a personal thing for me. I can still continue if I wish to, but that doesn't seem like the wise decision. So let's hear what you guys want to say. Give me some advice from your personal experiences.

I asked myself what I personally know about the country of Bangladesh and came to the conclusion that I know nothing!  

I began to search for information about this country on the Internet.  Most of all I was surprised by the information about the population of this country - 177 million people!  That's a lot!  

This is more than a person lives in the Russian Federation and several times more than in any European country.  

As for the ban on paying for goods (works, services) with bitcoins, such a ban also applies in my country.  No organization can use Bitcoin to pay for goods.  Bitcoin is considered a money surrogate, and the issuance and circulation of money surrogates is prohibited in my country.

Unfortunately, Bangladesh is tightening its legislation on cryptocurrencies.

It's a pity.  I would like to see less such international news.

[isaac_clarke22]

~

That really sucks, OP. I thought it would stay in the gray area like they would not really put people in jail just because they hold crypto, but now that you mentioned it. You got no choice, OP but I guess it is for the best of your business. Not sure if you could still somehow hold crypto in hardware wallets, but I would not risk any single transaction just to get into crypto if I were you.
For your business, crypto is completely out, but in your own personal secret stuff, you might still be able to hold, but again I would not risk it.
Good to hear that you're still somehow be able to access crypto-related sites though since I kinda expected that the government would tell all the ISPs to block these crypto sites to somehow stop it.

[suzanne5223]

I was shocked when I read the news about the Bangladesh ban on cryptocurrency last week but I don't know if the movement will be this fast. If you know that accepting cryptocurrency as payment leads you into trouble is better you stop but if your business is something that has to do with online then you have the option to offer p2p services.

Better not to touch up because once the government would find out that you are still making some crypto transactions then you would really be putting yourself in harm or you would really be put up in jail
and this is something that we dont want to happen, right? Its better to stop and even if i do make myself on the same foot of op then i wont really be hesitating in doing so.There are other ways which you could still deal with crypto despite of the ban but of course it cant be that possible that it would be integrated or would really be applied into your business.This is why
its better to move on and deal with it.

I understand your impression about not getting into trouble with the law but if everything is done p2p and online with the use of Tor there shouldn't be any problem. I know some people that are from China that's still in the cryptocurrency business despite the negative stance of the government towards the use of cryptocurrency.

I was shocked when I read the news about the Bangladesh ban on cryptocurrency last week but I don't know if the movement will be this fast. If you know that accepting cryptocurrency as payment leads you into trouble is better you stop but if your business is something that has to do with online then you have the option to offer p2p services.

I see that as a regular thing, although bitcoin has become more popular in recent years as more institutions and countries claim to accept it. But it is still being completely banned in some countries, and many countries have not legalized it nor have any regulations for it.

I think OP should stop all forms of accepting bitcoins or cryptos, including P2P, don't try to be smart and find ways to go against the government, getting rid of bitcoin won't affect his business. If he tries to circumvent the law and is found out, the cost is very high, even in prison, I think it is not worth the risk.

I guess the best thing the OP can do is move to a neighboring country where transaction in crypto is welcome whenever he want to execute his business but there are still some people leave in China who still live on crypto.

[darkangel11]

The people here saying they would continue to use btc are lying if they found themselves in this situation they would do the same. They would not risk jail time because hoarding that btc would be worthless when they are in jail. I know we love btc but there are things that are more important then btc and living your life with freedom is one of them imo.

Not really. I'm a rebel at heart so I'd continue to hold it. I'd do it the smart way though. I wouldn't tell anyone about it, just use it for online shopping, gift cards, maybe trading with friends who would want to own some. Do you really think there aren't rebels in every society? Those are the people that go to protests against the government when you sit on your butt and watch them on TV

There's a reason why a government would try to scare you away from crypto and that reason is always fear for their weak economy. That too many people using decentralized money would increase inflation and put their whole system at risk, so they want you to work for the good of the system, no matter if you support it or not. For me this would be a sign that the system is on the verge of collapsing and that I have to save whatever I have.
The moment they'd impose a total ban and start threatening me with jail, I'd start packing my bags.

[GideonGono]

As many of you may have read my previous posts and know that I used to accept crypto in my business. I was waiting for a Bitcoin payment to happen because all others were in alts. I used to convert them to BTC. No big deal there. But recently I am facing some issue with this.

I had to stop accepting Bitcoin/ Crypto payments because Cryptocurrency is not legal here anymore. It was in a gray area for quite some reason, but recently the law department is making their move by putting crypto in a black area, thus declaring it illegal.

I don't wanna wind up in some illegal affairs, so I put a halt in the crypto payment section. From my point of view, this is the best option I am left with right now.  I have no idea when will I be able to continue, or will I ever be able to continue again. And this whole thing is not because of any complaint from the police or anything like that. I am doing this for my own safety and to continue with my business. They are putting people in jail if they know we possess crypto.

So it's a personal thing for me. I can still continue if I wish to, but that doesn't seem like the wise decision. So let's hear what you guys want to say. Give me some advice from your personal experiences.

For me it is wise to stop accepting crypto for your business it isn't worth the risk at all.
Don't risk your business if crypto is illegal in your country then stop connecting it to your business.
You might just lose both if you continue to accept it and the worst part is it would ruin your name or business.

[tjtonmoy]

The people here saying they would continue to use btc are lying if they found themselves in this situation they would do the same. They would not risk jail time because hoarding that btc would be worthless when they are in jail. I know we love btc but there are things that are more important then btc and living your life with freedom is one of them imo.

Not really. I'm a rebel at heart so I'd continue to hold it. I'd do it the smart way though. I wouldn't tell anyone about it, just use it for online shopping, gift cards, maybe trading with friends who would want to own some. Do you really think there aren't rebels in every society? Those are the people that go to protests against the government when you sit on your butt and watch them on TV

There's a reason why a government would try to scare you away from crypto and that reason is always fear for their weak economy. That too many people using decentralized money would increase inflation and put their whole system at risk, so they want you to work for the good of the system, no matter if you support it or not. For me this would be a sign that the system is on the verge of collapsing and that I have to save whatever I have.
The moment they'd impose a total ban and start threatening me with jail, I'd start packing my bags.

The forbidden fruits taste good, doesn't it? We all have our deepest, darkest secret buried inside of us, and only we know it. I am not giving up on Bitcoin. I am still hodling what i own and willing to buy more in the future. But as for the business goes, I can't risk it. I have to continue to do it in order to live. So no question on whether I should continue accepting crypto as a payment or not.
Even if I can't use it publicly, I will keep it my secret. My forbidden fruit. 

[2double0]

There's no doubt you (OP) are left with the only option to leave crypto payments because your country's regulations are stopping it. However, I've got just one thing to say for such countries, "you guys are probably lacking enough knowledge of crypto or you are not interested in an opportunity that can potentially increase your GDP". I know what is the situation in your country and there are enough people living their life by earning through this forum and even through crypto, it's a seriously stupid behavior that your banks and gov has taken to stop you guys from accepting crypto, it's like taking back your freedom from your hands.

[Kasabus]

This is the reality of using Bitcoin. Bitcoiners like to believe that governments can't stop Bitcoin because they themselves wouldn't quit if their government banned it, but an average person would very likely quit because to them it's just not worth the risk. If all governments in the world decided to ban Bitcoin like they once decided to ban drugs, Bitcoin would be just a currency of darknet markets and not a "financial revolution".

It’s hard to really pursue our own goal when the environment itself is not cooperating anymore. It’s obvious that knowing bitcoin is already banned in your country, people will fear using it and will never be interested in it anymore so if you continue to accept crypto payments, I would say it will never be successful in the end. Just continue to accumulate bitcoin on your own, and do not expect from people around you that they can also be helpful in your own goal.