Despite the growth of bitcoin why haven't it been legalized by many nations?

[BitGoba]

Despite the massive growth, advancement and advantages of Bitcoin and most crypto currency, why is it hard for most countries to fully accept it is or permit it's exchange?

Bitcoin and crypto are two different things. Bitcoin is money and a monetary protocol, while crypto includes platforms for issuing tokens, utility tokens, and many other things that are not directly related to money. Bitcoin is distinct from all of that.

Bitcoin represents the separation of money from the state and the abolition of central banks and their monopoly over issuing money. States do not want to give up this mechanism because it allows them to constantly and easily create money out of nothing. By controlling money and holding a monopoly over it, they have power over people and can finance regimes.

[CTO114]

It takes a gradual intricate process for full execution, as we've seen, few countries are already tilting Towards that area. In the not so distant future, we could see a lot of countries adopt the Hybrid system; Bitcoin alongside flat currency.

[cryptoaddictchie]

Despite the massive growth, advancement and advantages of Bitcoin and most crypto currency, why is it hard for most countries to fully accept it is or permit it's exchange?

Well because some opposed to it. They cant control it since bitcoin is a full decentralized. Ofcourse some from the Govt wanted it taxed but some users hate to be under surveillance too from them and thats what Satoshi goal not to be underwhelmed by the Politicians. He makes bitcoin for everyone and no one should take advantage of it.

[tbct_mt2]

Well because some opposed to it. They cant control it since bitcoin is a full decentralized. Ofcourse some from the Govt wanted it taxed but some users hate to be under surveillance too from them and thats what Satoshi goal not to be underwhelmed by the Politicians. He makes bitcoin for everyone and no one should take advantage of it.

Bitcoin network is decentralized and can not controlled, manipulated by any single person, mining pool, miner, government so it is very strongly unaffected by governments globally. Governments as we know in long history of human civilization have never been agreed with each other in any issue so it's unrealistic to ask all governments globally agree to make Bitcoin legal in their nations and over the world.

The good news is Bitcoin Legality Map has turned greener over years.
https://newhedge.io/terminal/bitcoin/legality-map

[Alpha Marine]

The main reason why many countries are still hesitant is because countries want to be in the full control of the money used in their country, and something like that is not possible with bitcoin. There is also fear of bitcoin being used for illegal activities but that's just a bullshit excuse as some can be said about fiat money.

Aside from wanting control, one reason I feel the government don't want to legalise bitcoin is the impact it will have on their local currency. They feel if bitcoin is made a legal tender, the demand for the local currency will drop, thereby causing the value of the currency to drop.
This may not be the case in every country, but in a country like the US, which depends on the increase in demand for the dollar, having a superior currency as legal tender might not be something they would like.
Since they can't make it legal tender and they can't make it illegal because people have rights, they will use other systemic means to be against it so its adoption doing affect the dollar that much.

[uneng]

Bureaucrats must be busy with another matters, so Bitcoin legalization remains in second plan. Personally, I see new regulations are being implemented slowly, one at a time in my country. It's a step to step legalization, which isn't positive for adopters in anyways, as it just mean extra fees, difficult and more restrictions to Bitcoin services. Moreover, such regulations are being implemented without warnings from the media, so once you check you can't access a service or platform anymore...

Be thankful if Bitcoin isn't legalized, neither regulated in anyways where you live. The best time to use Bitcoin was ten years ago and before, when governments weren't concerned and didn't have any clue about its existence.

[Patikno]

Despite the massive growth, advancement and advantages of Bitcoin and most crypto currency, why is it hard for most countries to fully accept it is or permit it's exchange?

It is all about the government, and the cause is usually a lack of knowledge about current developments (especially technology), or a reluctance to learn or embrace technology (technophobia). For example, I feel that the government in my country is filled with people who are not very tech-savvy, and even Bitcoin in Indonesia has faced obstacles from the government. I learned this based on the story of the creator of the first crypto exchange in Indonesia, once he was visited by the government about his company and asked to explain it, including what Bitcoin is. Fortunately, Bitcoin was eventually accepted in Indonesia, even though it is considered a tradable crypto asset and not a medium of exchange or a legal tender. So, I think that is one reason why Bitcoin is difficult to fully accept in one country, and perhaps this is also the case in other countries.

However, I believe it is only a matter of time; time will tell. Just like other technological revolutions, such as the car when it was first created, I am sure it faced many challenges, and eventually became global, so I am confident Bitcoin will also be like that.

According to this map from Wikipedia, Bitcoin is legal in most countries in the world.


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

I havent actually counted, but as far as I can tell there are only a handful of countries where Bitcoin is prohibited (either completely or only partially).

Well, I think the OP needs to realize that from the image above, it can be said that Bitcoin is starting to be accepted worldwide, but its acceptance is still limited. So, as I said, Bitcoin will eventually be fully accepted worldwide, and again, it is only a matter of time.

[serjent05]

Despite the massive growth, advancement and advantages of Bitcoin and most crypto currency, why is it hard for most countries to fully accept it is or permit it's exchange?

Bitcoin and crypto are two different things. Bitcoin is money and a monetary protocol, while crypto includes platforms for issuing tokens, utility tokens, and many other things that are not directly related to money. Bitcoin is distinct from all of that.

Lol, it is somehow funny to think how Bitcoin, which is under the umbrella of cryptocurrency not be crypto?  If you want to make a statement about Bitcoin being different from other cryptocurrency, you can just use the word altcoins (alternative coins) to set a difference between Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. 

Thera are also other cryptocurrency that has almost the same infrastructure like Bitcoin because these altcoins are forks of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin represents the separation of money from the state and the abolition of central banks and their monopoly over issuing money. States do not want to give up this mechanism because it allows them to constantly and easily create money out of nothing. By controlling money and holding a monopoly over it, they have power over people and can finance regimes.

Aren't you exaggerating Bitcoin?  I can't find anywhere on the whitepaper that tells Bitcoin is the separation of money from the state, and abolition of central banks... You sounds great but not 100% i factual.

Back to the topic,  if we look back at the replies, some replies point to an article link that tells Bitcoin is legal to most of the nations and there are far fewer countries that are hostile to Bitcoin.  Many country have no problem accepting Bitcoin as a mode of payment, being traded on an exchange, or being invested by investors; in fact, some companies even set up spot ETF, while other companies are actively accumulating Bitcoin.

[happybitcoinph]

Despite the massive growth, advancement and advantages of Bitcoin and most crypto currency, why is it hard for most countries to fully accept it is or permit it's exchange?

Because Bitcoin isn't purely used as a currency. It was primarily being used as an investment.

Any investment is always tagged at risk in any country. And the fact that it's volatile makes it riskier.

Just enjoy, at least, that most countries accept bitcoin even though not tagged as a legal tender.

[Nahl]

There are plenty of reasons why most of countries in the world still not dare to legalized bitcoin and these are for examples such as high of volatility, anonymity and uncertain international regulation which these are the current condition of bitcoin and these things too makes the countries doubt they can control bitcoin but some countries including my country are starting to pay attention to the development of crytocurrency especially bitcoin

Finally those countries have decide to make cryptocurrency as the commodities or as investment tools which equal to gold and this condition makes people can bought bitcoin without against the law but to make bitcoin as the currencies i think it's quite hard because the countries are more likely to trust their native currencies

[cryptoaddictchie]

Governments as we know in long history of human civilization have never been agreed with each other in any issue so it's unrealistic to ask all governments globally agree to make Bitcoin legal in their nations and over the world.

The good news is Bitcoin Legality Map has turned greener over years.
https://newhedge.io/terminal/bitcoin/legality-map

Thats right. Some people wishes bitcoin to be legit (Govt perspective) but it wouldn't never happened I think. Yes there are some countries favor of making it legal like what we had in the past but is that gonna work out for all governments? I doubt it will. But maybe when the Leader or US makes a call for signup among other nations maybe they can lure some to agree.

[Oshio-man]

Some government want to be sure with the decentralized asset before they can make it legal in their country, you know that if the government rush to make bitcoin legal and something happen in the future, that will make majority of people that invested all their funds in bitcoin and bitcoin disappear years later, I think you know what will happen to the government officials that introduced it before government make it legal, they will pay those funds back to the people that invested the funds in bitcoin and still spend years in prison for fraudulent case which is a dangerous case any politicians or government officials will not like to involve, We don't have to blame the government that have not make bitcoin legal yet, I know in the nearest future, they will definitely make bitcoin legal to give their citizens access to bitcoin anytime or any day.

[CryptoYar]

[...]

Yes we all know that Bitcoin is different from other cryptocurrencies which is separate from governments and banks. But other crypto projects have different purposes and they are used for various things like running apps or creating tokens but Bitcoin main goal is decentralization with fixed supply. So this is direct challenge to governments which have historically controlled money supply to maintain power and fund their activities. With taking this power away Bitcoin aims to create financial system based on decentralized freedom other than centralized control.

[GigaBit]

Despite the massive growth, advancement and advantages of Bitcoin and most crypto currency, why is it hard for most countries to fully accept it is or permit it's exchange?

Bitcoin is decentralized, which is why governments had a negative attitude towards Bitcoin from the beginning. But when they realized that they could not restrict it in any way, they started adopting it.

For some reasons, governments cannot be willing to accept Bitcoin. Normally, central banks can printing money according to their needs. But in the case of Bitcoin, that is not possible because they cannot control Bitcoin.

Bitcoin uses blockchain technology to make transactions. Users can make transactions without banks, which is why governments lose financial control over those users. After all the positive side is that governments have now created a positive attitude towards Bitcoin.

[MarjorieZimmermanGinger]

Because they have their own reason:

1. It's harder for them to tax the money, people have a way to cash out privately which make them can't maximize the tax, unlike stock, ETFs where everything recorded in centralized sites.
2. They're a country where most of the citizen are Muslims, Bitcoin is haram in Islam, hence they ban it.
3. They hate Bitcoin.

The second point isn't entirely true because I live in a predominantly Muslim country, but Bitcoin is still legal to use as an investment asset, except for its use as a legal tender, and perhaps most countries also prohibit its use directly as a legal tender. There are certainly reasons why most countries ban Bitcoin, but so far, many countries have begun to open up to Bitcoin, resulting in its widespread adoption. Taxes can even be deducted directly on exchanges when converting Bitcoin to local currency when cashing out.

[Joy- maker]

Despite the massive growth, advancement and advantages of Bitcoin and most crypto currency, why is it hard for most countries to full accept it is or permit it's exchange?

Bitcoin is not owned and controlled by governments and central banks and Bitcoin is like a threat in view of governments and central banks. With conflict of interest, it is explainable why they don't like Bitcoin and in many years want to do many attacks in order to kill Bitcoin adoption.

you're correct since bitcoin is not owned nor control by the government and central bank so they see it as a threat, and for many years now the government had tried several times to eliminate bitcoin still dey didn't succeed. Let me be Frank here using my country for example, In my country anything that can't be controlled by the government of my country they don't put interest in that thing. Although bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are legal in my country, but with some restrictions and  only the citizens in my country are making use of them, while the government of my country is not interested in them including bitcoin.

[Abiky]

Despite the massive growth, advancement and advantages of Bitcoin and most crypto currency, why is it hard for most countries to fully accept it is or permit it's exchange?

Why? Because most countries want control/power above all else. They're afraid people are going to use Bitcoin more than Fiat, effectively "stripping" them from such power. Bitcoin is decentralized, which means more power to the people. Therefore, it's in governments best interests to limit its dominance by regulating it or making it illegal. El Salvador was the only exception, because it's a developing country without a Fiat currency of its own (it relies on the USD). The rest will continue to introduce roadblocks (obstacles) to force people to use Fiat more thoroughly. There's nothing we can do to change this.

At least, BTC does its job well by being an alternative to Fiat. As long as you're able to obtain true financial freedom with it, nothing else matters.

[avp2306]

Despite the massive growth, advancement and advantages of Bitcoin and most crypto currency, why is it hard for most countries to fully accept it is or permit it's exchange?

Because they don't have knowledge and afraid with its volatility. That's it that officials have negative thinking is just hook by the old system and don't want to put an effort to learn lot of things about Bitcoin.

1. It's harder for them to tax the money, people have a way to cash out privately which make them can't maximize the tax, unlike stock, ETFs where everything recorded in centralized sites.

They can and there are lots of ways to do it, they can impose a mandatory taxation on those local platforms they are operating if they really want to do it.

2. They're a country where most of the citizen are Muslims, Bitcoin is haram in Islam, hence they ban it.

It's debatable and its not been said that Bitcoin is haram, I have lots of muslim friends using Bitcoin. No definitive consencus about this matter.

Also Dubai a majority muslim nation is Bitcoin friendly city, lots of people out there are using Bitcoin so this is proof that actually Bitcoin is fine to be used by people in that religion.

3. They hate Bitcoin.

Yeah this is accurate since maybe their own interest like businesses on which they are benefiting a lot is badly hit by Bitcoin and they can manipulate people mind because Bitcoin somehow offers freedom.

[danadc]

It is unable to grow in some countries because it is not in their interest for people to have a stable financial life, They want them to be in debt so they can be slaves With Bitcoin, slavery ends, Basically the fault lies with governments that still have many closed minds.

[btc_angela]

It is unable to grow in some countries because it is not in their interest for people to have a stable financial life, They want them to be in debt so they can be slaves With Bitcoin, slavery ends, Basically the fault lies with governments that still have many closed minds.

Those government are wrong though, but the people can't do anything because those kind of government's are authoritative. And with that, they don't want to have their people getting rich or have the means because of Bitcoin. It's crazy but the only way for them is to get out of that government. But if they can't then they simply has to be very careful if they want to buy and accumulate Bitcoin.

Maybe it's a risk that everyone can take so that they can't get out of poverty and have the financial freedom that they once dreaming of. Countries who doesn't want to legalized or at least recognized Bitcoin will be left out.