The most trouble comes from cryptocurrency in 5 countries.

Even though crypto is often criticized for being volatile, being used in illegal transactions, and requiring a lot of electricity to mine, some people, especially in the developing world, see it as a safe haven during economic storms.

In September 2021, it was the first country to make it legal money. In April of this year, the Central African Republic became the second country to do so.

But as more and more people use cryptos as investments or a way to get by, critics keep coming up with new ways to limit how they can be used.

From one country to the next, the laws about Bitcoin and other "altcoins" (coins that are similar to Bitcoin) are very different, and in some, the relationship between Bitcoin and other "altcoins" is still not clear or is always changing.

Even though most countries don't make it illegal to use Bitcoin, its status as a form of payment or a commodity varies, which has different regulatory effects.

Some countries have limited how Bitcoin can be used, and some banks have told their customers they can't buy or sell Bitcoin. Other countries have made it very hard for people to use Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and make transactions with them by making them illegal.

These 5 countries have the most trouble with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrencies

China

Since 2021, China has been getting tougher and tougher on cryptocurrencies. Officials in China have told their people many times not to go to the market for digital assets. They have also put a lot of pressure on mining and currency exchanges in China and elsewhere.

On August 27, Yin Youping, the deputy director of the Financial Consumer Rights Protection Bureau of the People's Bank of China (PBoC), said that cryptocurrencies were "speculative assets" and that people should "protect their pockets."

People think that China is trying to hurt Bitcoin because they want to start their own electronic currency. Bitcoin is a decentralized currency that is not controlled by any government or institution.

The PBoC wants to be one of the first big central banks in the world to start its own digital currency. This would make it easier to keep track of what its people buy and sell.

Egypt

In 2018, Dar al-Ifta, Egypt's main Islamic advisory body, said that Bitcoin transactions are "haram," which means they are against Islamic law. Egypt's banking laws got stricter in September 2020, even though they are not legally binding. This was done to stop people from trading or promoting cryptocurrencies without a license from the Central Bank.

Bangladesh

It is not clear how Bangladesh feels about cryptocurrencies. Officially, there are bans, and transactions in cryptocurrency are punishable by up to 12 years in prison under the country's laws against money laundering and funding terrorism. But the country has proposed a new blockchain strategy, which shows that it is getting more comfortable with crypto and virtual assets. Also, there have been no reliable reports of people getting in trouble for using cryptos.

Iraq

In Iraq, people are using cryptocurrencies more and more, even though the government keeps trying to stop them. The Iraqi Central Bank has been against them especially. In 2017, it said that they couldn't be used, and that rule is still in effect today. Early in 2021, the Kurdistan regional government's Ministry of the Interior told money brokers and exchanges that they couldn't work with cryptocurrencies.

Bolivia

Since 2014, Bolivia has made it illegal to use Bitcoin in any way. It and all other currencies that are not controlled by a country or economic zone were banned by the Bolivian Central Bank.