Topic: I am stopping for legal reasons. Is it really worth the trouble? (Read 732 times)

Yeah, The issue of bitcoin legitimacy is not new, it has existed and changed as bitcoin took shape.  Some countries adopt and accept bitcoin as a means of payment - others do not.  This also changes bitcoin's next purpose to a store of value rather than payment.  Some of the regulations introduced in my country are “the act of issuing, providing, using illegal means of payment (bitcoin/crypto) will be subject to administrative fines/criminal investigation” Obviously you do not  can do nothing but comply with government regulations.  However, bitcoin is still not within the framework and has not been issued with policies such as a means of exchanging goods, buying and selling... Therefore, we need to understand clearly how to use bitcoin for many other purposes that are not included in the policy government regulations.

If I understand correctly, OP was engaging in some kind of online activity or trade and accepting payments in the form of Bitcoin. I am not too familiar with the regulations in Bangladesh, but it seems like there may be restrictions on keeping the Bitcoin received from these transactions. It is likely that all the funds need to be exchanged into the local currency and deposited into a business bank account.

It is sad to think that a country banned something wonderful just because they don't have any control over it.  If only the government will look how to regulate it and take advantage of the opportunities the cryptocurrency, especially Bitcoin can bring to its constituents.  They can ban other cryptocurrencies but can make an excuse for Bitcoin because it has been proven that Bitcoin helps people in terms of profit from holding it, get new jobs from the company start-ups and get new clients worldwide since Bitcoin is a global currency that can be transacted by anyone anywhere in the world.

I hope your country can see the potentials of Bitcoin and somehow changed its stance about Bitcoin soon.

Well I wasn't planning to get caught for illegal activity. And that's the reason why I am stopping right now. The plan was to attract more people with introducing something new and also let people know what cryptocurrency is. And it was in a gray area for a long time. So I thought why not? Then after sometimes I learned about those incidents about people getting caught for their involvement in crypto. So it has finally come to an end.
And getting permission from the parliament will not be an option as it is already banned and doing so will only get you under the radar. Why risk it?

Here you shared a screenshot but the Bangladesh Bank and Government have made it clear that all types of digital currencies are legally prohibited to invest, trade and invest under the 1947 Act. However, if you decide to introduce Bitcoin as a payment system in your business, you can't blame anyone for legal trouble. As far as I know as a Bangladeshi somewhere in Bangladesh say online business, offline business say Bitcoin is not approved.  Moreover, you constantly see Bitcoin traders from Bangladesh being arrested by the police. So how do you publicly introduce Bitcoin as a form of payment for your business? But if you can bring legal license from parliament then you can start.

Instool don't know the reasons why the government would have to restrict the use of cryptocurrency that had been a way for to save for the future and making some income by holding there coins and waiting for when it will appreciate. I think the government does not want to invest in an asset to will increase our income.

There had been a continuous fight against the use of cryptocurrency from different countries of the world. I hope this will stop soon because the restriction had affected alot of businesses and people are now looking for alternative to get things done. We have nothing much to so than to keep our holdings private to prevent the wrath of the government.

I don't think everyone needs to consider bitcoin or crypto adoption at a level of urgency because I think it's a payment alternative. Bitcoin has legality issues that differ from country to country, which does not guarantee that it is safe for us to adopt it especially when the law does not support adoption. Anyone can easily find a business that accepts bitcoin as a means of payment in countries where it is legal, but if the government doesn't legalize it then it's definitely illegal. You don't have to go ahead with the adoption if it conflicts with the law, so there are good reasons why you should stop adopting.

The same thing about most business people in my country, bitcoin is not adoptable even though we can legally trade it and invest with it. I don't have a problem with that, but maybe have a little gripe about how the government expects to tax traders and investors.

That’s the sad thing about bitcoin because we cannot just do it freely without the intervention from the government. Even in my country, bitcoin is not that fully legalized because you can really observed that banks are still avoiding it and treat  it like a trash, as if it’s non-valuable thing. But somehow, it’s good enough because once they fully legalize it, they will take in control everything about crypto and monitor all our crypto assets which I think would be totally unfair on part of us. So back with OP, it would be best if you stop temporarily accepting crypto payments for your own safety.

Once a law had been passed out or been integrated or been implied then as a citizen then you wont really be having no choice but to abide them because if you cant and trying out to oppose and on the time you have been caught then of course you do know on what are the probable consequences with that.We know that each country does have its own stance when it comes to Bitcoin or crypto which it is really that normal for you to act according into your countries laws and regulations.Tending to oppose? If you do see that your business at risks then it would be impossible that you would continue to violate considering you do
know on what are the things that could possibly happen ahead and im sure that all people would be deciding on the same thing.

It depends on the government in question, there are governments out there which pass all kind of laws but they rarely enforce them, so not much changes and people keep doing what they want even if now is considered to be illegal, however there are governments that not only use the police excessively but they even have a secret police monitoring their citizens, in that case it is better to stay away from any illegal activity as if you get caught the consequences can be dire.

As long as those innovative projects will develop a threat on the  part of the government and making them less important, probably the most possible thing to do is just to banned it permanently or regulate it so they can still have the full control over the innovation. So there’s no point holding on to your goal as it’s not worth the risk anymore, otherwise you’ll be subject for imprisonment due to disobedience of the government laws.

Ride on mate, in a situation as this, stopping is the best decision, and i am glad that that is what you did, it is actually not worth the trouble to keep accepting bitcoin and crypto payments when the government of your country have declared it illegal, they say obedient is better than sacrifice, so it better to be on the safe side.
If you want to hold crypto, I believe there are P2P traders in your country, you can easily use that to buy crypto with your local currency, this is exactly what we do here in Nigeria, and for a long time now, we've never had any issues with the bank or government, at least from then till now.

So stopping, for your own safety, to me, is the best decision in situations as this.

The government will eventually discover businesses that accept crypto as a payment method, as you need to obtain a license to operate within your business. This means that they are constantly monitoring businesses, and if they discover that you are accepting crypto, it is hoped that they will simply issue a fine. However, there is a possibility that you could face jail time. It would be best to avoid accepting crypto to avoid any trouble.

Cryptocurrencies in Bangladesh are completely illegal. However, people do not stop working in the illegal underground and survive here. The advice I would give you from my personal side is that you have started and keep Bitcoin payments in your business. Because online business will buy your products from different countries and they will pay you in different payment methods. Finally you will convert the payment from your various methods to your Bangladeshi currency. I think there will be no administrative problems. But you can continue your business.

I believe the government knows bitcoin even better than we do, they are the country's leaders, they have expert advisors from every profession, and they know everything about bitcoin. The fact that they don't accept bitcoin because it benefits us only, not them. Such as the transparency of bitcoin is what they don't like, if they use bitcoin, they will not be able to corrupt, or do shady things to profit. We want transparency, and publicity, but the government doesn't want that.

Unless you want to be reported and become a target of the government, you will keep on accepting bitcoin payment despite of the fact that bitcoin is being banned. Although there’s no wrong accumulating more bitcoin as for your own investment, but using it as a currency will not be worth the risk since the government will surely have to keep their eyes on you. So just learn to avoid the consequences so you can live at peace.

It's understandable why you made such decision, even me I won't risk my safety just to continue accepting Bitcoin/crypto if the Government already set it as illegal. I will continue to hold for personal use but not for my business because there's a consequence already.

Hence, don't feel bad if you stop accepting Bitcoin because that would be the wise thing to do in your situation. It's just sad that some country is banning the use of crypto for some reason. Our Government also warn the citizens about the use of crypto but not to the point they're prohibiting us to use it. So somehow, we're still free to decide what we want to do with our crypto assets.

Basically what the government is trying to say is that they do not recognize BTC as a currency and neither should it also be used for transaction/investment purposes.

Are there some laws that absolutely prohibit the use of BTC as a form of alternative payment? From the wording of what you sent, the government is just expressing its views on the topic about BTC but it no where did it state that there will be penal sanctions if you transact using them. But I do understand where you are coming from as a businessman as you want to avoid any possible and potential legal affairs from affecting your livelihood.

I guess the best advice that I could give to you is to further research on the topic and know if your country absolutely prohibits the use of such. If there are no laws on its prohibition, I guess you are somehow relatively safe from using and accepting BTC as an alternative payment.

There is nothing more to say here but what you did is the right thing. Since the government has labeled cryptocurrency as illegal, you have to stop dealing with cryptocurrency in your business else it is highly possible that you will be apprehended if you keep on accepting BTC or any other cryptocurrency.

It is a sad thing that the government is the main hindrance in cryptocurrency, specifically Bitcoin propagation.  There are really some leader who do not do deep research before acting against Bitcoin.  If only they know that Bitcoin is way more transparent than the national currency, I bet they will accept it than banning it.

I hope your country will soon realized that they are missing out on banning cryptocurrency.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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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.

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.

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.


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!

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

P2P could be a solution to the problem you are facing right now, as many people here have suggested, and for that reason it is best to store bitcoins in a wallet not on a centralized exchange. As far as I can see from the circulars and other regulations from the government of Bangladesh, they are quite serious in banning crypto/bitcoin in your country, regardless of whatever decision you make, but considering the risks is far more important than trying to impose.

You should also consider the ban, because from several sources I researched, the Central Bank of Bangladesh has completely banned the use of bitcoins and cryptocurrencies, because it violates the Money Laundering Act and will be subject to a criminal penalty of 12 years for those who violate it, although you can avoid open transaction and I'm sure you know what that means?

If your security is starting to be threatened you should stop accepting payments using bitcoin/crypto, because there are other things that are more important for you to do, family continuity and security are far more important to pay attention to, for me bitcoin will not mean anything, if security and family are not be our priority.

Exactly, the government can still ban bitcoin outright that way, bitcoin's decentralization is not such a big problem that it can't be solved if the government is determined to get rid of it. But fortunately, bitcoin is not a toxic product that can be lethal like drugs, bitcoin has various benefits, so it is very unlikely that governments will join forces against it, I can say it is impossible. Some countries still hate bitcoin, but they will soon change their mind when they see countries that already accept bitcoin achieve success in accepting bitcoin.

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!

I was very surprised to learn that crypto is now illegal in your country, which makes you unable to continue using bitcoins in your business anymore. For now, just play it safe with your government and give in to their wishes because I hope this is only temporary and they will legalize the use of crypto in the future.

And if the existence of crypto in your country has turned normal again, you can start using bitcoin as a payment option. Until then, you have to be patient while looking at the situation.

He can still accept bitcoin or crypto payments for his business in a non-public way to circumvent the law but I don't think it's a good idea, it's too risky for him and his business. In business, there is always competition and if the opponent knows he is circumventing the rules, they will not pass up the opportunity to take him down. The decision to stop accepting cryptocurrencies and comply with the law is absolutely the right one.
Bitcoin is inevitably just a matter of time, we don't need to rush, bitcoin will soon be accepted in all countries.

Don't worry OP, I believe this is just temporary. Because there are already a lot of countries that already changing their minds about legalizing using of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.
And there are also some governments that are not clear with their own regulation, so much better also to verify everything first before concluding.
I'm glad to see that there are small-medium businesses that accept Bitcoin as payment.

you are a businessman mate and not a criminal , why accept bitcoin when it is clearly being banned in your country? you are not only risking the business but your entire life once being caught .
obey the authorities so your business will go long and face no big issues.
if you still wanted to support or hold crypto ? then invest with it secretly and not by using the business as tools for this.

I can't say more about experience because we don't have issues here about acceptance of crypto as business payment though it is not completely accepted or adopted here in my country but at least not banned .

but for my personal opinion? better to follow the rules because remember that you cannot blame them once they seized your funds if founded you are doing it illegally .

try to benefit from following your government mate.

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 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.

No one can blame you for trying to avoid legal harassment or for any of your activities to be suspected. In fact, I did not know before now that you accept bitcoin payments in your business, and I would like to know the volume of transactions you have in bitcoin and whether there is really a demand for using bitcoin as a payment system. Most countries in the world do not have the appropriate technical infrastructure to carry this system.

Really hard to get against with the government, they do have the power and they do have the rights and the influence which could easily fucked you up and kicked out your business and it would be the end for you.

If you are really that optimistic towards crypto adoption and recognition and violates their warning then go ahead but you do know the consequences which i dont really see that it would really be that ideal
or worth to do so.
If you do value your business that much then you arent that dumb not to know on what you should gonna do which is to stop completely on dealing with crypto.
You dont really have the choice.

Sorry to say this, same thing is applicable with my country after the CBN warned every bank in my country not to associate our local account with cryptocurrency trading or involving in any illegal activities that concerns crypto. At then the only choice was to use p2p services and also makes it mandatory not to include any cryptocurrency narration during the payment to avoid being monitored by the CBN, Hence anyone caught while doing that their account will be freezed and all funds with be held by CBN. But guess what?
After the restrictions, my country is one of the biggest among cryptocurrency trading country and yet the government doesn't know how it moves.

My advice is that, you can keep accepting bitcoin but do not include any cryptocurrency narrations and only use p2p.

It must be hard for you, but in other hand, you have no choice for the shake of your business run to have no problems in the future. Because after all, when it comes to regulations from the government, sometimes we won't be able to hide much longer. It's a shame actually when Bitcoin could become a transaction method and ultimately failed because it collided with regulations in the country. Likewise with the conditions in this country that still have not legalized Bitcoin as a transaction tool. However, at least you have tried and let people know about Bitcoin.

Sometimes it’s just safe to follow the rules of the government than to make your own rules and you become instantly the target of the government. So my advice is just to stop accepting crypto in your business temporarily so you will not be reported by your neighborhood that you are going against the government. But do not stop on buying and accumulating bitcoin as your investment because it will surely be a hit investment of all time, rather than seeing it as a legal currency.

It is trackable because our transactions can still be seen in the blockchain but we can brake this link if we will use a mixer. Indeed p2p is not an escape route. There are still risks in there and we don't know what if the one that we are transacting with is the authority? Same scenario I see on my locale when they bust a drug addict that continues to buy drug even if it's illegal. Tracking through p2p isn't that simple as what they have in banks because banks are more regulated.

Do not worry @OP we understand your decisions and you actually did the right thing there. I know BTC is superior but it's not worth the risk once you got caught as you can face severe consequences. No btc and satoshi can save you after.

Big businesses are required by law to register their company so using a escrow is not as important because the people are known to run the business and could be held liable if they commit a crime. The difference with members on this forum is most are anonymous and could just run away without consequence. I can see why large amounts of money would still be put in a escrow but you $10 or $20 spend is not worth it and it is not worth them stealing that amount.

To stay on the right side of the law, businesses that want to accept cryptocurrencies must carefully research the laws and regulations in their jurisdiction. They should also consider partnering with a reputable payment service provider that has experience in the crypto space and can help ensure that their transactions are compliant with the law.

While the use of cryptocurrencies as a payment gateway is illegal in some countries, businesses and consumers are still interested in this innovative technology. However, it is important to be aware of the legal risks and to take steps to ensure that transactions are conducted in a compliant and responsible manner. By doing so, they can help promote the growth and adoption of digital currencies while protecting themselves from legal consequences. So I will prefer don't use crypto as payment gateway since it's illegal in your country

We agree here to stop accepting crypto payments because crypto is indeed banned in Op's country. it's just that, if you want to trade, you can use VPN access, because if you only trade, it's still possible. If someone doesn't want to divulge anything about the information about crypto that you have, then don't publish anything about crypto, let crypto be your personal secret and it will be safer. The ban on cryptocurrencies in Bangladesh has existed since 2017, but until now crypto is still thriving and there are more and more users.

Minimize the risks?
You do realize that by actively trying to hide your payments from the financial authorities or inspectors or whatever the IRS counterpart is there you're committing an aggravating crime,  from gross negligence your charge will switch to aggravated fraud since they will have the proof you have planned and taken all measures to actively avoid detections, so you knowingly did this and you can't even defend yourself in court anymore!

You're not minimizing the risks, you're just maximizing how bad this could end!
The difference here between negligence and aggravated form is from a maximum of 6 months to up to ten years, doesn't look less risky to me!

Bitcoin won't be banned in every country, as some of the major financial players consider it as hard money. Hard money is money that is backed by a hard asset, usually a valuable metal. In the US, I believe it is only gold and silver, but in the UK and many other countries, it is gold, silver and copper. Bitcoin is unique amongst cryptos, as it is the only crypto with a real hard value. Not many people understand how a virtual asset can have a real hard value, but there seems to be an increasing number in the financial world, and this is why they have been accumulating Bitcoin. Because of this, Bitcoin is likely to be treated in the same way that gold has been treated in the past, and will probably receive the same attention in the future.

I don't know much about Bangladesh, but I suspect that it doesn't have many representatives in the major financial markets, and therefore there won't be the same pressures to maintain P2P transactions. The Taka has been weakening against the dollar, and I believe that there may be restrictions on taking the currency out of the country. The ban on Bitcoin may be an attempt to avoid weakening the Taka, rather than an attack on Bitcoin itself. Someone should tell them to allow Bitcoin mining to build the wealth of some of its citizens.

The crypto status is not in gray anymore in Bangladesh. Your Central Bank had made it quite clear last year as well. The current circular is just a reminder on it.

Being a layman, I would not go against the government. In my country the tax on crypto is 30% so I have stopped converting my cryptos to fiat since last one year. We as a commoner, don't have resources to fight the government. So I will suggest you to stop any crypto dealings.

I just stopped accepting payments on my business. I will continue to hodl my assets on my personal wallet. If I don't disclose my personal information, then this won't be a problem. And the ban news is quite old for your information, but the law enforcement is taking action recently. Something might have happened, I don't know. But now they are active on arresting people involved with crypto. I will manage to keep my involvement secret, and I am not doing any illegal works. So it's all ok. Even if something happens, I will keep you guys informed here.

Also, thanks to everyone for their valuable advice. Hope everything will go well.

Yes this is the main reason I am stopping this. For me to run the business, I have to convert those cryptos into fiat. So there's a chance of my info getting leaked to police. That's why I am concern and stopped it.

P2p is not 100% percent untrackable and not an escape route from authorities if the authority want to trace p2p transaction it as simple as tracking a bank transaction.
*no one is really out of the radar if the authority really mean to identify the individual, but then we still can transact securely with verified P2P clients who have no criminal tack record.
*I have seen situation we're the police pick a Bitcoin seller up at odds hours all because he hard a deal with someone on p2p who wired the money into his bank account, using funds gotten through fraud and the seller went in for what he know nothing about, because bitcoin trasaction were termed illegal I'm my jurisdiction.
So I am very aware of the risk of P2P but then we can only work to minimize the risk by avoiding some things because Bitcoin is only anonymous when you deal based on Bitcoin to wallet but once you exchange into fiat it then mean your records are expose to the third party.

Of course they can track it you do know that the government knows your net worth right? If you have ever deposited or used a bank to purchase btc they know how much you have because they know the address that you have deposited that btc into. It does not matter if this is on a p2p exchange they can still investigate and see that you have purchased btc through a bank account and they will know because of the time of trade how much you have. If you do not report any taxes when you withdraw a profit they will know where that came from. I hate that people think that btc allows you to tax evade and it gives the community a bad reputation.

if it's a matter of understanding and experience, I'm still new to the world of crypto and bitcoin.
in my country also bitcoin is legal as an investment tool, so there are no problems that prevent investing in crypto or bitcoin.
but what you experience there about the new crypto and bitcoin rules, will definitely make you hit, which is usually the habit of using crypto, and now it is illegal, will definitely make you pretty down.
but if it is related to the legal realm, it is better to stop for a moment, especially since it affects your business and your future.
better save your soul, your family and your business first.

Risk is on everything in this world. But this industry is decentralized in the first place and I doubt there'd be a way for the government to track your transactions especially if you won't announce it to the public. As long as the servers are not strictly prohibited, you'd be able to use this technology freely not unless you'd be having problems with exchanging your crypto assets into fiat by any case. 'coz if it is just prohibition of accepting such kind of payment, there's no need to worry about I guess. It is somewhat the same with other countries wherein cryptocurrencies are just neutral the only difference is that there is an announced prohibition with its use in your country.

Thank you for saying this it seems a lot of people are repeating P2P just because they have heard other people saying it but you still have to declare your taxes if you want to be legal. P2P is not a get out of taxes card that you can play and the platform can still potentially report any trades to the authorities if they receive a subpeona. P2P protects you from certain things but it does not protect you against the police and you still have to report your taxes. I do not know where people got the idea that you can avoid taxes because you use a P2P exchange and the police can still trace those transactions and the platform you are using probably has records of conversations to. 

If crypto is prohibited in my country it still won't stop me from receiving Bitcoin as a standard form of payment because I have never seen where the police or forces are looking for those that are accepting BTC as payment.

The worst that could transpire is you transacting in BTC online and sending crypto money into your bank account.

Well, not all countries are the same, and since OP is from Bangladesh things might be different over there, so I won't advise you to break the law, also if you have some enemies or haters around you they can report you to the force or police.

Who knows? Your government might already be on the lookout for scapegoats, pls do not be one.

Do you guys realize that p2p is not something magical that will shield you from authorities?
You still trade with a stranger, you send a complete stranger your bank account, your PayPal address your whatever 3rd party information, all the authorities have to do if they really want to crack down on such trades is make two-three sections in a database and there you have it:
- people that have sent wires multiple times of different values at random intervals not matching monthly payments
- people that are constantly making wires to ones that are not relatives and not situated near them
- people that have no business registered which would involve those transfers

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.


Everyone is a hero and defies the authorities till a tear gas canister explodes in their face or a door knock is heard at 2 am at their door  

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.

If you want to do this for just safety then I couldn't say anything but I will definitely say that if you just hold BTC in your cold wallet and will not convert into fiat then it impossible for anyone to track it. We know that State Bank system may down due to BTC For this reason they always oppose BTC
 
It is very good that you follow the rules of the country But I would like to give you a tip that might be the best for you. You should not conduct bank transactions or P2P that involve crypto. You can hold BTC and other crypto activities And no one should be informed about it. I hope sooner or later your country will allow crypto And then you will have no regrets either.

It would make your business illegal, which is bad for you and your business. The law is always a law, so if we follow it, we won't have a problem. If that's the case, it would be better to stop to prevent problems, and let's hope that it will be lifted soon so that you can start accepting this as the payment method. Though I've read the announcement of it, which was 2017? How are people reacting to this? as other businesses still continue to accept or not? because it is nice to not completely stop this but again you'll always get nervous if you still continue this and worrying so much that someone will come up and will close your business as you still continue accepting crypto.

I'd do the opposite. If my country decided to ban crypto I wouldn't sell it. Why should I take any losses because my government wants me to? I'm not a slave of my government, the borders are open. I'd rather sell my apartment and keep my bitcoins. They're worth more than the apartment anyway and if the government doesn't care about my financial freedoms then I have to take matters in my own hands and move somewhere else.

First they take your bitcoins, you obey, then they come and take your fiat money, because they can, then they take your land and make you a slave. I wouldn't live in a country that wants me to be poor.

I think @OP is discuss about their business and Bitcoin payment, not his personal and Bitcoin holding. As far as I can see @OP wouldn't quit to hold Bitcoin, this is why we're still see he's wear paid signature in this forum. It's ridiculous if the @OP continue to accept Bitcoin payment on his business, similar like how you sell drugs while your country forbid it.

Technically it's a crime if @OP using Bitcoin when his country ban it, but some people including me wouldn't see it as crime as long as it's not used for illegal stuffs or harm any people.

It's definitely not worth the trouble. It's better to not be in prison if you can. You're still able to buy BTC secretly, I'd suggest you do that and I hope everything will be ok with you.

Nobody wants to go to jail, and if that's the punishment even for owning cryptocurrencies in your country, then accepting them as a means of payment in your store is nothing more than asking for something bad to happen to you. You have to accept that you live in a country that does not have a friendly attitude towards such things, and the only way to change that is to change the current politicians, which means that the crypto community should be much more active in the next elections and elect people who think differently (if they exist).

Another way is to move to another country that doesn't have such laws, but that's not an easy decision to make, especially if you have someone you care about and you can't take them with you.

My country is not hostile but if it did become hostile and decided to ban btc I would probably have to take my losses and sell and stop using btc until it was allowed again. I will not break the law for anything. Life is worth a whole lot and keeping a investment because you are stubborn and just want to profit more is not a option when it would make you a criminal imo. I think you are making the right choice.

I understand you don't want any legal issues for your business and for yourself and there is no problem in thinking this way.

However, if you do exactly what those regulators want you to do, you won't be able to invest in bitcoin anymore and might lose opportunities that will come with bitcoin valuation. Opportunities that could potentially be your passport outside a country which enforces abusive, restrictive and censoring measures over its citizens.

Give up btc on your business for now, but keep investing on it and growing your holdings in secret.

Feel free to miss out on Bitcoin profits once we go 100k+. Personally, I would not be bothered by any government who claims to have banned crypto in 2014 and 2017. And yet here you are, still dealing with cryptocurrencies. I wonder what happened to those bans? Nothing.

Your banks do not want competition and your government does what the banks want. They want to scare you that "you might be in legal trouble sometime in the future for unknown reasons" and you panic. 
Source: https://mahbub-law.com/is-bitcoin-legal-in-bangladesh/
But, you are right. It is your right to feel safe and legal...

Good luck in your future!

Better stop if you dont like to mess up your life because you would really get imprisoned.Its just sad that there's nothing we can do if government do really make out such step or decision and its the sad
thing for us to deal with which we dont really have any choice whether to oppose or obey their decisions.It is really just sad that you are really that optimistic towards bitcoin adoption and recognition
via applying it into your own business but it turns out that regulation issues would really be the main problem as always.So they do really end up on prohibiting
crypto or Bitcoin into your place, so for now its better to cool it off if you dont like more problems be faced on potentially.

Well yeah , just do what they ask ... obey it at first.

Then just find a way ... or else the solution will come after you in the coming days for sure as there will always someone who figuring out something like this and get his legal ways to back in the business , accepting bitcoin in a strict country never be easy but they will just regret it later and you laugh out of it, time will tell.

That's fine.

We can't say that you'll be fine and the government will understand that it's just another payment method if they're the one enforcing some rule of law for you to stop accepting transactions in bitcoin.

It's understandable that you have to do it for your own safety and as well as for your business. You'll have to obey what it says in the law but I know there are folks that have been doing something like this against the law but, they're just remaining lowkey so they won't get caught by the authorities.

Better be safe than sorry, and halt crypto payments until the smoke settles. You can still buy bitcoins using your profits that you can set aside, and that wiuldn't make much of a difference at all. At least it puts you in a discreet setup that doesn't endanger you that much as you can still buy and sell bitcoins using Binance or any such trading platform available in your country. I don't think your government would impose a strict monitoring of your online activities to prevent this one from happening, so you should be good.

you will never know if someone will leak some info to your government that you are dealing with crypto. so for now, better halt your payment option and don't let anybody know that you are still in crypto. better be discreet with your crypto dealings. better stop accepting crypto as it may create more trouble on your end. just go back when things are much better for crypto in your area.

I think this is just for traders. Why not hold your coins instead I don't think holding coins is illegal since you are not trading them for local currency it should be fine.

And I suggest do all transactions privately if ever you use BTC an online VPN and incognito/private browsing should protect your privacy. Just don't exchange all your crypto for local currency until central banks approve it. You can still exchange them in the future or move to other countries where crypto is legal.

If it has been banned and blacklisted, then obeying the rules is the choice you have to make, if you insist on continuing with the adoption you will get bigger problems. You have done the right thing by stopping accepting bitcoin payments and reverting to accepting payments only in your country's currency.
But you can still use bitcoin for other purposes, namely as a commodity and of course that won't be a problem because the government won't check crypto users one by one.
If access is blocked you can still use a VPN and of course there will be many other alternatives.
If at first, you were open about crypto, now you have to be quiet and close the meeting you are using crypto, so you don't get new problems.

You did the right thing, there is no need to take risks you are not comfortable taking, especially if the government is actively pursuing and incarcerating anyone that deals with cryptocurrencies, just be careful because even if you do not deal with cryptocurrencies anymore maybe someone could alert the authorities you did in the past and they may pay you a visit, so be also ready to answer some questions and defend yourself and make it clear that you are respecting the law and you stopped doing that as soon as this law passed.

From the look of things ops may end up making a rush decision in stopping his cryptocurrency alternative payment because, from the look of things on the government bank circular ops posted,  it shows that the bank is just trying to warn citizens against the risk associated with virtual currencies, but not a total ban and I am sure P2P will work perfectly in this situation.
*ops should know that, receiving cryptocurrency payment give his business an edge over its contemporaries who only have one payment method.
*I advised ops to seek legal advice as suggested by someone on thos threads.

This answers your question. If your safety and security is compromised, then you should halt all public transactions in cryptocurrency until a more convenient time to allow it as a payment option.

Bitcoin is decentralized, but we as citizens of certain regions have to conform as much as possible to existing laws and regulations.

Better stop. There’s no sense fighting and promoting for bitcoin because the people around you will not gonna fight and oppose the government policies as they are afraid to do so. However, you can still continue to invest and accumulate more bitcoin but not in a process of accepting bitcoin as a payment system as your consumers will never want anymore to be involved in bitcoin as it’s banned in your country.

Constraints like these make crypto, especially Bitcoin, unable to be maximized as it functions. Here, we understand that sometimes we cannot put forward our ideals in doing something, because sometimes it can become a rock and an obstacle. It's not that I don't support the use of Bitcoin as a means of payment anymore, but if this is the case like what you are experiencing, then I think it's okay to comply with the government more securely and for the sake of your business continuity without any problems from the authorities. This is not only happening in your country, but also in mine. Even though crypto is legal as an investment tool or commodity, Bitcoin is still not legal as a means of payment and cannot be used as a means of payment. hence, some people who wanted to do it, had to go underground. And this is of course difficult because we don't know who or which merchants received it because it was not announced.

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.

Bitcoin is great, and bitcoin accumulation is always worth our money, but bitcoin without the support of the government and being banned all over the world, then I think bitcoin will end up useless. Although you can still continue to accept bitcoin if you like, for your own investment, but i don’t think if there will be a lot of customers that will prefer to pay with bitcoin instead of fiat.

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".

Bitcoin is legal in most countries. There is a difference between explicitly banning crypto and being crypto-unfriendly, for example in the United States crypto and BTC isn't banned, nor is it illegal, but the government want to regulate it, and would probably never make it a legal tender, but you can perform any crypto transaction without facing legal problems. China is another country that has banned crypto mining and crypto exchanges, but didn't explicitly make crypto transactions illegal. In op's country Bagladesh, crypto is explicitly illegal and trading it can bring problems for the person doing so.
If you will run into legal problems by accepting crypto payment, then the most logical thing to do is to stop it. You would surely continue using BTC and crypto secretly as there are ways to do it, but openly accepting it in your business kind of brings you out and it could be bad for you as it is illegal.

What about p2p, does that has to do with centtal authorities, your customers can always make payment without using a centralized exchange which is why everyone need to hold their coins in their wallet and not on exchanges, why should your country make that into law against the acceptance is best known to them but i believe it could have been part of the illicit activities associated with altcoins that aggravates this into action, while you could enjoy p2p to circumvent this embargo because sooner or later you would still realize what you would have missed implementing a stop on bitcoin acceptance because that's the direction the world digital economy is heading.

It's understandable that you want to avoid any potential legal issues, so stopping the acceptance of crypto payments for now seems like a reasonable decision. However, it's important to keep up-to-date with the legal status of cryptocurrency in your area and to follow the law. You may also want to consider seeking advice from a legal professional to ensure that you're making informed decisions. Additionally, you can look into alternative payment methods that are legal and secure in your region.
Here are some general tips for preserving privacy and avoiding tracking when using Bitcoin:

Use a reputable and secure wallet: Store your Bitcoins in a secure, private wallet that allows you to control your private keys.

Use a new address for each transaction: Always using a unique address for each transaction makes it more difficult for others to track your activities.

Use a VPN: When accessing your wallet or making transactions, using a VPN can help hide your IP address and encrypt your internet connection, making it more difficult for others to track your activities.

Avoid reusing addresses: Reusing addresses can make it easier for others to track your activities and connect multiple transactions to the same person.

Be mindful of your personal information: Be careful about sharing personal information, such as your name, address, or other identifying information, when using Bitcoin.

Additionally, running a node allows you to validate transactions and blocks yourself, increasing security and reducing your reliance on centralized services.

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

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.