How Different Countries Approach Cryptocurrency
At the turn of the century, governments worldwide were hit with the headache of having to deal with the arrival of cryptocurrency. Nobody really knows how to treat cryptocurrency. Nobody has found a really good solution up until now. While in some countries authorities have been trying to ban all things crypto, in others they have pretended that nothing special is going on.
US
The government there is still figuring out the right attitude to cryptocoin. They’ve been limiting their actions to SEC warnings against crypto investments. The country is planning to take a tougher line on cryptocurrency, people familiar with the matter say.
Venezuela
Authorities there are paying close attention to cryptocoin, not to mention that they have even launched a national cryptocurrency — Petro — backed by oil and intended to bypass international sanctions. Other nations that have come under sanctions for their policies may follow in Venezuela’s footsteps.
China
While people there take a keen interest in the digital money, China being a host to the world’s largest mining farms, the government is doing all it can to thwart the process, from putting various exchanges on hold to slapping a bunch of bans to crypto trading. Negative headlines which keep popping up are causing spikes in the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It’s fair to say China has taken the harshest line on cryptocurrency so far.
South Korea
In the beginning, cryptocurrency took the country by the storm as its popularity surged. But a raft of bans were put in place after authorities decided to follow the “China script,” depressing cryptocoin value. Some of the bans were lifted after people protested.
Ukraine
The situation around crypto is unclear here. Authorities neither forbid nor allow crypto trading. Legislators seem to have put the issue on the back burner without even recognizing cryptocurrency as legal tender. But that doesn’t keep Ukraine’s crowds of crypto enthusiasts from running average-sized mining farms. Authorities may soon deal with the legal side of the problem, however.
Russia
As with other countries, Russia is still beating around the bush as for what to do with the “digital gold.” Authorities have taken a rather negative stance, causing fears that crypto mining and trading will soon fall out of favor with the law.
Georgia
Some think (for a reason) that this country is nothing short of a cryptocurrency lover’s haven, as its cheap electricity and the absence of meddling by authorities makes it super-attractive to crypto miners. The nation is home to crypto farms that count among the world’s biggest (second only to China’s). One of Georgia’s opposition parties has recently revealed plans to create a crypto of its own and dole it out to people.
UAE
The UAE has taken a peculiar approach to cryptocurrency. On the one hand, while authorities have been trying to take full control of the crypto segment, the Central Bank has declared it doesn’t recognize Bitcoin as an official means of payment. On the other, the UAE is the country that hosts a number of companies conducting crypto-related business, one of them a startup that aims to create a gold-backed cryptocurrency, which by far is not the only cryptocurrency here.
Canada
Things have taken a rather strange turn here. While the government shows a negative attitude to cryptocoin, no crypto-targeting bans have been put in place to date. Furthermore, the nation is one of the most transparent as far as cryptocurrency regulations go.
Netherlands
Both authorities and the population have taken a positive attitude to cryptocurrency here, with 2% of the people having made investments in a range of cryptocoins (chiefly Bitcoin and Ethereum) and with more people thinking of doing the same. No interesting steps have been taken at the legislative level, though.
UK
The government here is clearly interested in taking further measures in the cryptocurrency area, with the Royal Mint planning to launch its own gold-backed cryptocoin — Royal Mint Gold (RMG).
Australia
At the outset, authorities here didn’t even pay attention to cryptocurrency. After some time, they finally decided to do something about cryptocurrency but have made no meaningful efforts to date. But they will very soon.
Nigeria
Infamous for its ravaging inflation rates, the nation has taken a huge liking to cryptocurrency. The government tried to intervene at first but ultimately let nature take its course after officially declaring it was impossible to take complete control of the segment. But authorities might by all means try to impose controls again down the road.
Japan
Unlike China or South Korea, Japan has taken a very favorable line on crypto, which comes as no surprise, given how this nation attracts the most interesting elements of the cryptocurrency world. As a result, the digital money enjoys an ultimate free pass here.
