Topic: World Map of Bitcoin Legality - page 3. (Read 593 times)

If there's something I am glad about, it's that Bitcoin is starting not to be seen as the "criminal's paradise" currency anymore. Despite the entire attempt to artificially centralize and regulate something that is open-source and cannot really be centralized/restricted, the way people are starting to see BTC is a very positive side we shouldn't miss. The old days where everyone saw Bitcoin as a criminal currency will soon probably be long gone.

The sad thing is how people change their minds just because PayPal or other corporations adopt Bitcoin. It's almost like the vast majority of people blindly trust corporations just because they earned a spot in the global charts.. Sad.

Illegal means Bitcoin usage is prohibited while restrictions mean you can only use BTC in certain ways. During the pandemic we have social restrictions, not the illegality/prohibition of social interactions. You're restricted to meeting a certain maximum number of people only with masks on, etc.

What could be the difference between restricted and illegal? they're most likely the same isn't or was illegal has a bigger consequences rather than the restricted countries. Looks like the country where Bitcoin is accepted is relatively high than country which considers it illegal.

Then why do we keep saying bitcoin isn't accepted according to that map bitcoin is gradually globalizing the world ,it just in certain regions who haven't heard of it and the restricted area ,
       Bitcoin is really making progress if they survey is accurate.

Bitcoin is now a long way since October 2008 when Satoshi Nakamoto announced the creation of a decentralized electronic money system to the world, posting an abstract of the whitepaper and a description of Bitcoin to the cryptographer mailing list.

Bitcoin became known to the world since the 2010 slashdot article which was the first publication in tech news about Bitcoin. Many of the early miners and investors found Bitcoin from this article created by bitcointalk user "teppy" and discussed in this post.
Next for Bitcoin was the integration of payments by Wikileaks and the swarm that was heading towards Bitcoin. Since 2010 when Bitcoin gained recognition there has been an increased adoption initially as a payment method for online goods, Bitcoin enthusiasts even created physical Bitcoins with "casascius" ordered by authorities to stop minting collectibles.

Bitcoin has been adopted as a payment method by major corporations including Microsoft, Wikipedia, AT&T, Overstock, Subway, Twitch, Virgin Galactic, and lately many more through Bitpay, PayPal, crypto debit cards, and more payment processors, although not directly in these cases as first the transaction has to settle in fiat cash.
The legality of Bitcoin was in question all this time, especially after the adoption of Bitcoin in darknet markets and high demand during the Silk Road days made Bitcoin gain infamy.

During the years, some countries put a blanket ban on Bitcoin, and others introduced restrictions in the use of Bitcoin as a currency and demands for declaration of all cryptocurrency possessions to the tax authorities.
Coin.dance has the world map of current Bitcoin Legality along with more information about each country about the Bitcoin legality and classification with links to valid news about each government decision to legalize, ban or restrict the use of Bitcoin in their country.



We see that most of the world is green for Bitcoin although some countries have strict regulations and demand declaration of Bitcoin ownership, taxation, and KYC. Other countries have a loose legal framework that is still undecided.
Regulating Bitcoin was always a big question as the decentralized aspect and financial freedom is something that escapes the mind of governments that are used in a Central Bank controlled financial system with limitations and restrictions, that excludes billions of people from the world economy.
With the full adoption of the internet, decentralized in nature, although most of our actions are on websites that are controlled by a few big corporations, some governments fear the financial inclusion, privilege, and freedom the decentralized money is offering to 7.6B people. Bitcoin is exactly this, a means to control your wealth without a bank, a government, a lawyer, or a central party that will authorize payments and transactions.

In my opinion no matter where we live, laws and regulations can change so it is better for us to keep protecting our privacy.
Also, I really don't care if Bitcoin is classified as money, commodity, or any type of asset. It can be called digital gold or something else, what matters most is the decentralization part which is the vehicle to financial freedom. The security of the network, the open-source nature that allows validation of the code, and the strong community that supports and develops together with bitcointalk forum are all helping Bitcoin adopted and becoming accepted worldwide.