Topic: Kuwait Bans Bitcoin and crypto payments, investement and mining (Read 354 times)

Yeah, just weird that the Kuwaiti government are preventing the growth of crypto. While their neighbors are doing the opposite. I had a talk with a friend who is working in Dubai right now and he asked me about what apps or exchanges I used to trade. So I said Binance, and he said that they are also looking at Binance because they want to do some training.

In any case though, if the Kuwaiti government will go against it then nothing we can do. But if there neighbouring countries become a crypto hub, maybe they will change their stance here.

The leaders of each country will have to decide what path to take, right now they are taking the path they think is the safest which is to just ban bitcoin and any activity related to it, however if we are right in our assumptions and bitcoin becomes as big as we think it can become then this move is going to hinder Kuwait and similar countries as they will be way behind the race, compared to the countries which decided to adopt a more friendly attitude towards bitcoin and this could cost them dearly on the future.

I would like to point out two ideas to respond to those who were surprised by Kuwait taking this step:

First, why is Kuwait expected to support cryptocurrencies? I do not know why some positions condemning the news carried to my mind that Kuwait is a very influential element, or that it is more qualified to join the wave of support than others. Quite the contrary, which applies to many other countries in the region, if not all of them.

Secondly, cryptocurrencies in their various activities were not originally legalized in Kuwait, and the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law has been in force since 2013 and can be used against any cryptocurrency user in Kuwait just by suspicion. This means that Kuwaiti users do not disclose their activities, and companies cannot provide services or benefit from cryptocurrency services in the absence of clear regulatory laws.

It seems that there was a great wave of optimism that hit everyone after the UAE adopted cryptocurrencies and regulated corporate activity. They are completely forgetting the nature of the economic and financial policy in the UAE based on openness and proceeding according to a clear vision for the UAE to become a center for modern technologies by 2030. Kuwait has nothing similar with UAE from all sides.

On the contrary, I expect that many countries will follow Kuwait in its decision and issue laws that clearly prohibit crypto based activities.

Well, that's one of the richest countries in the Middle East, and now they are out of the Bitcoin race which might not be that big of a problem for now but it will surely slow down the adoption process as a country with a lot of money and resources is not allowing their citizens to invest in Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies, which is bad for the industry as there could a lot of money flowing if Kuwait had allowed their citizens to take part in the revolution.

However, Bitcoin still has a long way to go and I'm pretty sure that once the majority of countries make it legal and allow their people to invest in it, the countries which are now banning it will cancel or change their decisions and will lift the bans and restrictions on their citizens for using Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies.

That's true, this isn't that important and plus we weren't getting like tens of billions of dollars from Kuwait as well, it is only bad for the citizens there who liked to use it, which would not be possible after this current situation but I agree that overall the bitcoin market wouldn't be phased about this at all.

Sure there could be some people who might, I would understand something like that but that doesn't mean that it will be too long neither, I believe it is going to be just regular people and I would not be able to think that it would be a bit of a weird situation. In the end we are talking about a situation where it is going to be getting a bit of tougher for people to move on when more nations bans it, so I hope that doesn't happen.

bitcoin banned with accusations of being used for money laundering is FUD which is heard quite often and is used as an excuse by countries that don't like and support bitcoin. I am very sure that this accusation was prompted by the central bank of Kuwait, which does not want their business to be disturbed by the existence of Bitcoin there, even so, citizens who want to invest in Bitcoin can still do it secretly and without the knowledge of their government, access is not difficult (can use a VPN or take advantage of the TOR network).

I don't know how much this will affect the crypto market. But according to my knowledge, the adoption rate of BTC or crypto is too low in Kuwait but p2p trading is high them according to statistics . But still, i don't think this news needs that much attention than others like ETFs etc.

There must be some big manipulation might go on there that has forced authorities to shut down all the activities directly related to Crypto. Like even the mining too. Because it is much easier to perform mining there but for those who are foreigners. not for locals. due to inflation difference.

Most times these act of banning are just done by the government in power to targeting a particular organization or group of individuals that are perceived enemies or opposition. They do this to frustrate themselves and keep them on watch list. I am not surprised if in the nearest future news emanates that the sole reasons why the ban was implemented was targeted at some certain person's for some reasons because the government are always at it.

Lastly, I think that nation has no significance when it comes Crypto and probably they have no major players or big names in the industry hence the reason the ban did not effect bitcoin price and not only that, Bitcoin of lately has hard a tough time with the market pressure and is gradually becoming resistant to external force and pressure trying to control or manipulate the market direction and price.

Banning crypto as an investment, mining would be a bad thing, they can't even accept the development of technology.
Not thinking about the right regulation so that technology can still develop.
Investment or trade is an option that can be chosen actually instead of having to ban everything.

They follow in the footsteps of China who even banned Bitcoin completely, but China still continues to develop their own.

Such extreme regulations will only provide debate and severely limit their people.
If mining is also banned, then existing miners are banned and even expelled from their own country.
But will they be able to detect who will be involved in crypto thoroughly?

The country that have got something around 4.5 million population doesn't make big impact on the market of bitcoin. In the 4.5 million how many would be involved into crypto business. These are out of fear that their currency value would drop and loss its importance. To agree the fear factor the government have described about money laundering and other activities as the reason for the ban. In the past many countries have taken the decision to ban and lifted the ban after year understanding the goodness and need. So, this ban were all temporary. People will find ways in the black market or move to the near country to use it.

It is only a negative news for the people that use BTC in Kuwait, the country is not really that popular in BTC adoption and i don't think that too many people out of over 4.3 million people living in Kuwait are using BTC. Surely this news shouldn't have any influence on the price of BTC, people aren't going to panic and sell because of this.
A decentralized crypto like BTC doesn't have a single point of failure, so it is difficult to ban it. Some governments may ban it and warn their citizens not to use it, but there is no way to completely stop people from bypassing your order and using it. I don't think 'important' countries are ever going to ban BTC, they will regulate it and also make money from tax on it.

Indeed, it took me by surprise. When I came across the news, I noticed that Bitcoin had not reacted as expected. Despite the negative news, there was no significant price drop, which left me astonished. I'm beginning to doubt whether a complete crypto ban is truly feasible. It appears that the authorities are primarily targeting organizations involved in crypto businesses rather than trying to ban decentralized cryptocurrencies outright. The fact is, banning decentralized cryptocurrencies is practically impossible. People will always find ways to utilize them, either through peer-to-peer exchanges or on the black market.

Every time I read bad news like this, I often feel sad, because apparently there are still a lot of negative issues related to Bitcoin in this world. And they have always assumed that Bitcoin only has more negative sides than positives. And issues related to money laundering, global crimes, and scams are the ones that are most often raised by parties who reject and ban cryptocurrency. This is really sad because it's not just Bitcoin that can be used for this crime. but unfortunately, it's always Bitcoin that is the highest accusation. From here, we learn a lot that there are still many parties who reject Bitcoin. But fortunately, not big countries are declaring it again because it will get even worse for Bitcoin's image later.

Well said mate, and I would take my country for an example, the government of my country or should I say the central bank governor of the federation actually ban the use of crypto with banks in the nation but like you said that didn't stop the masses from bitcoin adoption and seeing this again, it now came to a stage where the government had to make plans for the actual study of the technology that is behind crypto so that they can regulate and have financial benefits from it's use in the nation.source

Well, I see the ban as inconsequential as that would not stop the full scale adoption of bitcoin globally. I would not be surprise the Kuwaiti be doing bitcoin transaction secretly and there government knows nothing about it. Possibly they must have weighed the options they have at hand which is more favorable to them as every government does before implementation.

Bitcoin can do without Kuwait after all bitcoin never depended on any government approval before it became a global entity but rather government are now becoming dependent on bitcoin as a source of generating revenue for their nation. So who amongst the both needs each other for survival?

I get really saddened anytime I hear the ban of cryptocurrency by government of any country all for the claim of money laundering.

It would have been better if the government of Kuwait even made moves to regulate or tax everything that has to do with cryptocurrencies, using it as payment, trading or for investment and mining, so as to dissuade it being used for money laundering activities as they claim.
The country is one that I had always known which has good economy and with lowest unemployment rate worldwide, with also no personal income taxes for its citizens. Kuwait provides an attractive job market for expats. So if the government decides to ban crypto and all its related activities because of any claim, it's because the poverty level in the country is less.

Kuwait's crypto adoption might not be compared to other parts of the world like US and China but I believe there are individuals and businesses they are going to suffer as a result of this development. Kuwait is the cheapest country to mine Bitcoin, all the miners that have been taking advantage of the country's cheap electricity will have to pack up or go elsewhere. This is not good at all and I hope the government makes a u-turn very soon.

It looks like the current leader of Kuwait does not see Bitcoin as profitable asset by as tool being used for money laundering.  I believe they are stereotyping without considering the transparency of the Bitcoin blockchain where transactions can be seen.

I also think that this ban will be temporary and will be lifted when there is a change of leadership or they found out that Bitcoin will be beneficial for them.


I also think that they implement ban while studying the effect of Bitcoin in their country.  They wanted to be on the safer side since many scammer are using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency to scam people and possibly they wanted to prevent that before they have the full knowledge about BTC in their country.

Thus, Kuwait appears to be throwing us a curveball. Thats sad, especially considering what their pals are up to. But hey, each nation has its own rules, and weighing the potential benefits against the potential drawbacks can be a bit like walking a tightrope at times.

Its true that they're restricting crypto-to-crypto transactions; this is problematic. But that's not the end of cryptography in general. Keep in mind that there is no overarching authority in the world today. While it's regrettable that only one country participated, this doesn't spell the end of crypto or Bitcoin. It could make the train move more slowly, but it wouldn't stop it.

Consider, too, that they may be pausing in order to assess the situation and plan their next action strategically. The future is never guaranteed. Believe is essential.

This is not something new as most of governments are doing the same. My country (Pakistan) has already banned crypto and now going hard against anyone who is involved in cryptocurrency. It's also imperative to mention that governments are regulating cryptocurrency i.e. legalising the use of centralized cryptocurrency not the decentralized one. Governments have no objection on use of cryptocurrency if its fully under there control.

Meh. Not really bitcoin's problem at this point. Countries that are way well off than them are choosing to allow bitcoin in the country and they aren't, so if shit hits the fan and they come back reeling for bitcoin then that just means that we're really telling the truth yeah? I feel like I'm going off into a tangent here but basically saying that countries can go about banning cryptocurrencies all they want but people are seeing the use and benefits of it and you can't really stop what's already taken traction. In the case of bitcoin and illegalizing it, what are they going to do? Throw every bitcoin user in Kuwait to prison? Unlikely. They're doing this to spite other countries and to probably gain sympathy from others. They'll realize this is not the way soon enough.

Or one of the anti-bitcoin lobbyists like the IMF or the World Bank told them that if they do it they'll get a loan (or not get one if they don't). Also possible they were pushed into this by this FATF bullshit organization that wasn't elected by nobody, but has the power to threaten countries with blacklisting.

You can't ban bitcoin, you can only ban yourself from bitcoin!

Kuwait is prohibiting Bitcoin while the UAE is offering a lot of incentives for its expansion. I think it depends on each country's government what they do. After all, it is clear that such a policy of theirs is not appropriate for the times. I think they still haven't got a good idea about Bitcoin. Because of which they are discouraging it rather than receiving. Bitcoin is not limited to one country. Neighboring countries will be amazed when the UAE takes its country to the heights of prosperity through Bitcoin. Not everyone will join Bitcoin together. So worrying about this ban can be considered a waste of time. I believe that they will accept bitcoin again because when the whole world will be connected to Bitcoin they cannot ignore it.

In that matter, we can't do anything if they don't have Bitcoin or cryptocurrency in their country, and besides the fact that the country of Kuwait does not have Bitcoin, that only affects the crypto enthusiasts in that country.. but for sure it will also be taken back by That's Kuwait in my opinion, especially when they see that Bitcoin will rally in the market when you have a bull run next year. I don't believe they will ban Bitcoin for long.

The rules in the gulf countries are very strict and they have severe punishments if you are caught so people won't take risks although smart people find some ways to bypass these restrictions.The fines are also huge that if someone is trading in it they will impose certain amount that can be huge for the accused.

See the concept is that being decentralised bitcoin don't need approval of any third party but still the usage for it will push forward the demand and if all countries start taking such actions against it people won't be able to use it although there could be ways to overrule this but still risks are associated with it so we need more adoption for it but bitcoin is the leading way to having custody of your funds which is what governments fear losing control..

They will always push forward the excuse like used for illicit activities like Kuwait government has of money laundering keeping in mind the transactions can be traced if used without mixing service but what about fiat? It's simple to do crime with it as digital money can be blocked but not fiat but it's their money and legal tender so it doesn't matter a lot to them.

This bullish for Bitcoin as it's a decentralized, censorship resistant and independent system, hence won't be affected.
Now concerning the humans who could possibly be affected by this... punishments for using Bitcoin for payments or investments may only be possible if Bitcoin is bad, if they use it for something immoral/illegal, if they pay with bitcoins that are somewhat dependent on the system they control or if they buy/sell things that rely on the system. This is just an idea for those who wish to safely navigate a lawless system that tries to prevent them from using things that are good and permitted for responsible people to use.
 It's always better to use Bitcoin for things that are right or good, use it when you're completely independent of the system they control and don't depend on anyone in the system. Using it otherwise is unsustainable.

I saw the news early morning today on flash news in social media platform but I snobbing the news. And one thing I discovered from all these countries that are banning cryptocurrency lack the full knowledge about the new technology. is it not better they regulate the transaction process than banning?
Kuwait has been on the deliberation https://freemanlaw.com/cryptocurrency/kuwait/ and what Minister of Finance did in Kuwait is the same thing happened in Nigeria. On their own they just hate cryptocurrency and if you investigate the issue well, you will discovered that it is not because of the money laundering but because of hatred to the bitcoin users. Now the Central Bank of Nigeria for governor is in under DSS custody. He will learn his lesson from there. It would have been better they regulate it.

I wonder what the motivation for this was. Perhaps they were seeing an influx of crypto miners that was stressing their electrical grid and causing problems? That’s the first thought that comes to mine. Especially considering the timing with the hottest days ever being recorded happening. I’d imagine they want to make sure people are able to use their air conditioners without brownouts due to miners.

As a nation that may not wield sufficient global economic influence, I believe Kuwait's decision regarding its stance on Bitcoin need not be vehemently contested. However, it truly saddens me to witness the predicament faced by some Kuwaiti individuals who harbor a genuine interest in Bitcoin. For them, relocating to a more Bitcoin-friendly country appears to be the sole recourse, as their homeland seems disinclined to embrace Bitcoin as a legitimate cryptocurrency.

It appears that within the Kuwaiti government, there exist certain individuals who are unable to accept Bitcoin as either an asset or a currency. This resistance, consequently, leads to the rejection of Bitcoin for a nation with a population of approximately five million.

I don't expect all nations to accept Bitcoin at the same time. Some will be friendly now others will be in the future. Kuwait is claiming it wants to abide by the rules of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to curb financial practice, terrorism financing, and money laundering. But they are been too harsh to the crypto community because FATF recommends strict supervision of the financial activities of crypto operations and not an outright ban. In other nations, regulators are coming up with advanced methods of monitoring, tracking, and recovery of illicit crypto funds, instead of a ban. They will lose most of the opportunities that cryptocurrency offers. The good news is that this year more countries are opening up to Bitcoin. Affected businesses and miners will move to friendlier neighboring nations like UAE and others to avoid sanctions or penalties.

Kuwait shouldn't give a silly excuse for placing a ban on bitcoin that it is due to money laundry. Before bitcoin came into existence, would Kuwait government say that there wasn't money laundry. The major issue is the decentralized nature of bitcoin that cannot be accessed by government to track who uses it,they have seen that their government can't control bitcoin users and it has become a threat to them. They should have regulated it instead of banning it. This isn't a problem to bitcoin adoption or price because other countries and individuals will keep on adopting bitcoin. I feel for Kuwait because they have missed out in the opportunities that bitcoin gives to its users. A digital world needs a digital currency.

It seems there is no valid reason to ban the crypto currency transactions, mining as well as approving any platforms to provide services related to cryptos unless they are panning to execute it for too long. The government claims that they are doing it to combat money laundering but I feel they are not benefiting from having cryptos like their neighbors (UAE, Saudi) because they managed to generate few billions invested into their country.

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Definitely not, they will just go with the huge money as penalty because AFAIK the mostly they will go for such penalties that we remember about middle east mostly for disciplinary cases

Kuwait is not the first country to ban Bitcoin for the reason of it been used for money laundering, as we have had many countries do the same and more to do so in the future, but despite what, it still doesn't change what Bitcoin stands for (i.e Make individuals have control over there funds) because both gold and fiat have been used for money laundering since many centuries ago, but why haven't any of them been ban if I should ask? It's simply because governments has control over it unlike Bitcoin that they don't, and as such will find every means just to eradicate it.

Note: Bitcoin is not the problem, but the individuals are the problem we have in our various countries

It doesn’t matter at all. This country had no significant contribution in the Bitcoin market at all. I don’t think having its geography near to UAE makes any different as well? They are not dependent country on the nearby countries of UAE so it really matters nothing. In fact any countries adoption or non adoption doesn’t mean anything to anyone. I believe this is going to be just another news in getting printed at some corner of the news paper and thrown in the dustbin after a day or so.

In fact most of the internationals would have never came to know about this news if it wasn’t posted here. It’s just the forum where we hear such news.

Frankly I never go online try to dig information whether any country has banned it or not. It means nothing. Bitcoin doesn’t really care about it.

I think so too. We will have to see what influence this has in the area, but I do not think that the United Arab Emirates, with the amount of business that Dubai moves with cryptocurrencies, will change its policy. I would like to think that eventually in Kuwait they will realize their mistake and reverse the policy but you never know.


Lol. Let them take a cue from Dubai then, instead of beating around the bush. 

Kuwait has different political and financial conditions then UAE and Bahrain. Maybe the level of money laundering might increased there. That's why the governments took these steps to ban all of the things. And believe me, i belong to the same continent and these ban are temporary and will be lifted after some time.

Maybe when the time will be right. Because these steps are made by some of the people with great power who would make such things happen. And every time such bans has some agendas behind them. The main thing came to my mind is only. There must be some illegal activities that has forced them to make such steps.

Otherwise, unlike US, China, they can not manipulate market, because the traffic or i would say legal traffic or crypto users who add volume to crypto industry from Kuwait are less.

Bitcoin in Kuwait is in a tricky situation. The Kuwaiti government banned financial institutions from trading Bitcoin during its run in late 2017 due to high volatility, and Bitcoin is not legal tender in the country.

In May of 2021, the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) issued a statement warning the public about the volatility in cryptocurrency markets, reminding them that cryptos are not considered "real currency" that is regulated by state authorities, such as banks or monetary institutions."

However, Bitcoin is legal for residents of the country and citizens can buy and sell cryptocurrency without restrictions from supported exchanges like BitOasis, coinmama, paybis.

buybitcoinworldwide.com/kuwait

I don't know why some countries were still living in their wildest dream till date thinking that cryptocurrency is an avenue for money laundering when this shady acte has always been in use over years right before the introduction of bitcoin to the world, people steal, hide and abuse financial laws and regulations in many ways, but they are using this their own regulations to affect the individual citizens and go would love to take in part of this financial freedom and dominion than the one being controlled by the government, it's a pity also that government were too blind to see the needs of the people in wanting the establishement of a decentralized currency, the most countries of the middle east like Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Dubai were i think would have more strict rules against bitcoin have the most amazing interest in cryptocurrency, i think this also have to do with exposure and the calibre of those ruling in a particular country.

Most Gulf countries are like that actually - if crypto is not improving their economy by supplying an influx of blockchain companies and startups, they'll just ban it and be done. Most of these countries do end up reconsidering their bans as the crypto landscape changes shape and new policies & developments are made (the most infamous example being Russia which has banned and unbanned crypto no less than four times over the last 10 years).

You mean this part?

I hope they don't invent a punishment like getting as many lashes as the price of bitcoin is in their currency!

But they do have cheap energy, and a ton of it, the climate is not that great but with nearly free energy you can afford cooling too, I will see if our fellow miner knows more about this.

Which means the government failed to understand what bitcoin actually is. If they like, they can ban other cryptocurrencies, but bitcoin has been achieving all-time-high. If they do not sell in panic and during loss, the price will appreciate and they will later gain.

 They should consider bitcoin as a speculative asset, but in long term it is a store of value. I wonder if trading fiat and stocks is accepted in the country if that would be the reason. I think what that is stated above would likely be the reason why cryptocurrencies are banned in the country. But that is just novices understanding and fiat is worse regarding that.

There is nothing a country ban that people will not still be able to do. Cocaine and many drugs are banned but people are still able to buy and sell it among themselves. In my country, marijuana is banned, but you will see high school students taking it. How about cryptocurrencies which are easier to get. All that is needed is decentralized exchanges if it is a total ban. But if it is an implicit ban, their citizens can still trade within themselves on centralized exchanges too.

I will like to know about this too. Also I will like to  know if it is a total or an implicit ban.

It can even be like China that bitcoin is banned but Chinese can hold it as a property legally  . Do not mind me, that is just a joke. But it can be real too.

I guess the other countries that are also looking for some reasons to ban Bitcoin and other crypto payments will have to resort with the same reason.

And that's to avoid money laundering.

They're just going to widen the reason so that people wouldn't blame their government for having this decision. While it's true that UAE has an opposite stance but they have a different focus on its industries I guess and doesn't see the opportunity from within.

I can't say if there's any interest in Kuwait when it comes to Bitcoin, whether it's ordinary people or companies, but I have to admit that apart from a few mentions when it comes to mining, I haven't encountered any news from that country when it comes to Bitcoin. It's also hard to say why they decided to make such a drastic decision, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of the local rich lost a bunch of money in some crypto investment, and this is kind of revenge for it.

However, as always for ordinary people, this does not have to be a problem because the BTC transaction does not require the approval of the government or any politician, and those smart will always find a way to continue trading with BTC and stay under the radar.

The only thing I'm interested in is what are the penalties for those caught in the offense - I hope it's not something of the type of punishment that exists in that part of the world.

They can ban it because they are government in that nation but they should borrow better reasons for this prohibition against cryptocurrency. Banning it because of money laundering is just gibberish as they don't ban fiat currencies with same reason.

I don't expect it too because Middle East nations are more friendly with Bitcoin and cryptocurrency than Europe and North America. Many blockchain summits, conferences, companies were hosted and operated in Middle East. This regulatory movement from Kuwait is very strict and not expected.

Lots of overseas who work there ar eprobably thrilled with the news. Ive got some cousins and friends who work there and this will be a bad news for them since doing crypto as a sideline is definitely a worth hustle at all. Anyway Im sure this is just another trick of their government or worst they dont see any progress with whats happening out there on blockchain and web3 involvement. Maybe it will be the same as China who banned and will open again once they realize they are left behind.

However, Kuwait is one of the 2nd richest Muslim countries. Despite this new policy I'm not sure it will create a backlash because it's not necessarily that bitcoin is of critical interest among the population. On the other hand I believe almost every citizen in Kuwait has achieved their financial freedom.

The important thing is that there are no dirty practices in the political system, I think their policies result from common sense than other corrupt countries, and rejecting bitcoin is not controversial at all.

That's Kuwait's problem, they are not even noticed as one of the most adopting Bitcoin countries so it's their choice and in fact if I came across this new online I won't come on here and make a topic about it because it's Kuwait, it's not America, Singapore or China, this isn't also the first Ban on Bitcoin mining, sooner or later it will be lifted.

Especially when they start noticing what they are missing with web3 and others, I believe they have no clue about blockchain technology, few countries where this stupid before, until they understand what they are missing.

Rubbish. I am referring to the Kuwaiti government.

They can ban Kuwaiti dinar and all the foreign reserves they have too. All of them are used by criminals.

Bitcoin do not depend on a single country.

If some bitcoin critics are in government, there is nothing that can be done. But they like or not, a day is coming that more countries out of scanty that do not support bitcoin will support bitcoin and they will likely be among. Time will speak.

So it looks like Kuwait has decided to ban crypto payments, investments, and also mining. The reason? is the usual:


As the article states, any violations of the prohibitions would result in penalties.

I personally wasn't expecting this, especially with their neighbor (UAE and Bahrain) doing the total opposite.