Is Bitcoin Trading Legal in Qatar

On December 7, 2017, Bank Indonesia, the country`s central bank, issued an order banning the use of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, as a means of payment from January 1, 2018. [14] On November 11, 2021, the Indonesian Council of Ulema issued a Haram fatwa against the use of cryptocurrencies as currency, including Bitcoin, citing both Islamic laws and Indonesian banking and currency regulations. The fatwa also prohibits trading and holding cryptocurrencies unless these cryptocurrencies meet Sil`ah`s Islamic standards of tradable and possessable goods such as physical form, clear value, known number, can be truly owned, transferable and not entirely speculative. [112] Nevertheless, Morocco remains the number one for Bitcoin trading in North Africa. Currently, India does not prohibit or allow investments in the cryptocurrency market. In 2020, the Supreme Court of India had explicitly lifted the ban on crypto-currencies imposed by the Reserve Bank of India. [85] [86] [87] [88] Since then, cryptocurrency investment has been considered legitimate, although there remain uncertainties about the scope and payment of the resulting income tax, as well as the regulatory system. However, it is envisaged that the Indian Parliament will soon pass a specific law to ban or regulate the cryptocurrency market in India. [89] A prominent public policy lawyer and vice president of SAARCLAW (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in Law), Hemant Batra, expressed his public opinion on the Indian cryptocurrency market to a well-known online publication that “the cryptocurrency market has now become very important with the involvement of billions of dollars in the market, It is now inaccessible and ruthless, that the government completely bans all types of cryptocurrency and their trade and investment.” [90] He discussed regulating the cryptocurrency market rather than banning it altogether. In this regard, he called for following IMF and FATF guidelines. Most jurisdictions and authorities have yet to enact cryptocurrency laws, which means that for most countries, the legality of cryptocurrency mining remains uncertain.

Decision 034/2014 of the Finnish Central Tax Office (CBT) states that commissions charged on Bitcoin purchases on a foreign exchange market are banking services within the meaning of the EU VAT Directive and are therefore exempt from VAT. Indeed, the Court classified bitcoins as payment instruments – while most countries treat their use as an unregulated method of exchanging goods or even a crime. [171] [172] Bitcoin was legal in Mexico as of 2017, with plans to regulate it as a virtual asset through FinTech law. [38] Italy does not regulate the use of Bitcoin by individuals. [3] : Italy On December 19, 2017, Abdellatif Jouahri, governor of Bank Al-Maghrib, said at a press conference in Rabat during the last quarterly meeting of the board of directors of Bank Al-Maghrib in 2017 that Bitcoin is not a currency, but a “financial asset”. He also warned of the dangers and called for the creation of a framework for consumer protection. [16] The Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier issued an opinion in February 2014 recognising the status of the currency for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. [184] The first BitLicense was issued in October 2015. [185] The Norwegian tax administration stated in December 2013 that it did not define Bitcoin as money, but considered it an asset. Profits are subject to wealth tax. In business, the use of Bitcoin falls under VAT regulations. [179] “They are also not valid to be traded or invested.

This is due to the high risk associated with trading them due to their high volatility, which makes the whole process similar to gambling,” he said. 19. In August 2013, the German Ministry of Finance announced that Bitcoin is now essentially a “unit of account” and can be used for tax and business purposes in the country, meaning that purchases made with it must pay VAT, as in euro transactions. It is not classified as foreign currency or electronic money, but presents itself as “private currency” that can be used in “multilateral clearing circles,” according to the ministry. [129] [130] The Bundesbank asserts that Bitcoin is not a virtual currency or a digital currency.