Bangladesh Central Bank: Cryptocurrency Use is a 'Punishable Offense'
A full translation of the statement from the Bangladesh Bank has been added to the piece. The central bank of Bangladesh has issued a new statement suggesting that the use of digital currency is now illegal in the country. The Bangladesh Bank, as originally reported by the Agence France-Presse (AFP), has said that the use of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is unlawful under existing anti-money laundering (AML) statutes. The Bangladesh Bank noted in its advisory that harsh penalties could be imposed on those who use digital currencies, saying: "Bitcoin is not a legal tender of any....
Related News
An alarming article appeared in The Telegraph news publication on Monday which indicates that persons in Bangladesh caught using bitcoin could very face prison time. Actions such as buying, selling, or trading bitcoin could violate Bangladesh's strict anti-money laundering laws, and country's central bank (The Bangladesh Bank) says they have issued a warning against getting involved with bitcoin following local news reports of bitcoin transactions being used on a number of online platforms. "Bitcoin is not a legal tender of any country. Any transaction through Bitcoin or any other....
The Bitcoin Foundation has issued a new statement suggesting that it is currently investigating whether bitcoin and digital currency transactions are now illegal in Bangladesh. However, citing general uncertainty surrounding this week's statements from the Bangladesh Bank, the Bitcoin Foundation Bangladesh, the organisation's first Asia-based affiliate, will suspend operations. In a post entitled "The Case for Bitcoin in Bangladesh", executive director Jon Matonis suggested that the comments from the bank don't read like other bitcoin bans. This perception has proliferated since earlier....
Last week, the Central Bank of Bangladesh issued a statement that anyone caught using Bitcoin would be subject to a prison sentence of up to twelve years, essentially forcing the Bitcoin community underground as the Bank is enforcing the nation’s money laundering laws. According to one source, the Central Bank made its decision after a number of local media reports talked about Bitcoin transactions on several online exchanges. The Central Bank explained the decision: “Bitcoin is not a legal tender of any country. Any transaction through Bitcoin or any other crypto currency is a punishable....
Bangladesh recently banned the use of bitcoins. This action makes the country the latest in a string of nations that have taken steps to restrict or otherwise ban the use of bitcoin and other digital currencies. Also read: Ecuador Bans Bitcoin In Favor Of Own National Cryptocurrency. Brief Profile of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a South-Asian country on the Bay of Bengal that borders India to the east, south and west, and has Myanmar (formerly Burma) as its south-eastern neighbor. It is classified as a developing country with a rapidly growing market-based economy. Bangladesh is the world's....
Following up on recent news reported indicating that Bangladesh could imprison individuals caught using bitcoin in the country comes the news from the Bitcoin Foundation that their affiliate in the country has temporarily halted operations. The September 15th reports noted that buying, selling, and trading the digital currency could be punishable up to 12 years in prison, as the use of bitcoin violates the country's strict anti-money laundering laws. The Foundation writes: Until more information is obtained on the current situation, Bitcoin Foundation Bangladesh has temporarily suspended....