Do You Know The Top 6 Bitcoin And Crypto-Friendly Countries?

Mikasa Watanabe
Altimates
Published in
4 min readMay 17, 2021

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Over the past years, Bitcoin has been the hottest talk in the town, with the recent one being Bitcoin pushing $60,000 and more individuals and businesses adopting digital currencies.

Currently, there are 5.8 million global users who actively use cryptocurrency wallets and transfer cryptocurrencies daily, yet Bitcoin is still not widely accepted in most countries. Some countries even went to the extent of banning it due to the lack of regulatory framework used to regulate the crypto market.

On the bright side, many countries are slowly opening up to Bitcoin and acknowledging it as a means of payment. Without further ado, here are a few Bitcoin-friendly countries that have wholeheartedly accepted Bitcoin therefore any use and trading of it is completely legal!

  1. Malta

Malta may be a small island, but it’s known as the “Bitcoin Island” that has long positioned itself as a cryptocurrency-centric country. While cryptocurrencies are not legal tender in Malta, the Maltese government was the first to approve the digital assets-related acts (MDIA, ITAS and VFA), hoping to stimulate the economy with Bitcoin and blockchain.

The largest cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and OKEx have also reported expanding their headquarters to Malta due to existing laws in Malta that provided a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and blockchain companies.

2. Japan

Being one of the early adopters of cryptocurrency, Japan holds the largest market share of Bitcoin, reaching over 51% of the global market share of total bitcoin in circulation. In 2019, the Japanese government has set up a PSA (Payment Services Act) framework that allows cryptocurrency trade and payment in the country. To date, there are more than 10,000 businesses — including Rakuten that accepts Bitcoin as payment.

Aside from regulation, Bitcoin is created by a Japanese that goes by the name Satoshi Nakamoto. Japan is also the birthplace of the world’s first-ever cryptocurrency exchange, Mt. Gox.

3. Slovenia

Slovenia may be one of the smallest countries in the European Union, but it has more retail locations that allow cryptocurrency payment compared to the United States. In fact, unlike the United States, income from cryptocurrency trades are not taxed in Slovenia.

Slovenia has even built the world’s first cryptocurrency shopping centre in Ljubljana called BTC City with stores that accept cryptocurrency payments through the Elipay system. Here, you can even find the world’s first public Bitcoin monument in the town of Kranj.

4. United States

The United States is the second-largest Bitcoin adopter after Japan, taking up more than 25% of the global market share. Since 2013, the US government has accepted Bitcoin as a virtual currency for digital transactions. By September 2015, it was registered as a commodity by CTFC under the Commodity Exchange Act. Bitcoin is also taxable as property in the US.

While the legal status of Bitcoin may vary in different states, no states in the US prohibits it.

5. Australia

In Australia, Bitcoin is not treated as a foreign currency. Cryptocurrencies are legal in Australia and Australians can use Bitcoin to pay domestic bills, goods and services. In fact, Australians can purchase Bitcoin at more than 3,500 Australia Post branches across the country.

Australia’s government has also implemented new legislation to regulate cryptocurrency providers and to protect crypto businesses from cybercrime. Cryptocurrencies are treated as property since 2017 thus are subjected to tax.

6. Germany

Germany has always been a cryptocurrency-friendly country that allows cryptocurrencies. Besides actively supporting the development of blockchain solutions, Germany has exempted Bitcoin from tax whenever it is used for payments. Better yet, the country has a 25% tax exemption for Bitcoin profit held for more than a year.

Even though their government still forbids financial institutions from directly selling cryptocurrencies to customers, things are about to change after 2020 when the government announced that German banks may start providing selling cryptocurrencies and granting custody over them,

There are many more countries like Switzerland, Singapore, Canada and so on. that has given the green light to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency for various purposes. Perhaps the increasing popularity of cryptocurrency may lead to more countries warming up towards cryptocurrency adoption.

Bitcoin isn’t just a digital currency that serves as a great alternative investment but its peer-to-peer system created a fair and new means of payment for goods and services without the involvement of a middle person. To completely understand how Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are created and utilised, Altimates is the best platform to go.

Arbitrage trading can be zero-risk with Altimates leading you through the way. In your perilous journey to reap a fortune, let Altimates be the one to guide you forward.

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