11-07-2014: – Italian authorities have issued Bitcoin warnings and have also lobbied for regulation. In an interview, Rome`s attorney general, Luigi Ciampoli, said that Bitcoin could be used by criminals for money laundering, terrorist financing, or mafia activities. In addition, an Italian financial police agency said in an interview that without regulation, Bitcoin would be a powerful tool for illegal activities. Both have pushed for strict regulation of cryptocurrency. Utility tokens are cryptographic assets that provide functional utility to the holder, such as the right to receive a product, or more often the right to access a particular service, or even a simple discount on a product or service. From a legal point of view, utility tokens can be considered as a DLT representation of a “consumer right” in relation to a product offered by the issuer. Financial institutions are not allowed to facilitate Bitcoin transactions. The Superintendencia Financiera warned financial institutions in 2014 that they were “not allowed to protect, invest, trade or manage virtual currency transactions.” [14] The Norwegian government stated in February 2017 that it would not charge VAT on the purchase or sale of Bitcoin. [180] The legal status of cryptocurrencies varies considerably from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and is not yet defined or changes in many of them. [1] Although in most countries the use of cryptocurrency is not illegal per se, its status and ease of use as a means of payment (or commodity) vary with different regulatory implications. [2] The Finnish tax administration has issued instructions for the taxation of virtual currencies, including Bitcoin.
[3]: Finland [170] Instead of a currency or security, a Bitcoin transaction is considered a private contract equivalent to a contract for difference for tax purposes. Purchases of goods with Bitcoin or the conversion of Bitcoin into legal tender “realize” the value and any price increase becomes taxable; However, losses are not tax deductible. Mined Bitcoin is considered earned income. [170] Although not officially banned, the Bank of Tanzania advises against using cryptocurrency, pointing out that Tanzanian shilling is the only acceptable legal means of payment. [20] [21] 30-01-2015:- The Bank of Italy publishes two guidelines warning against the use of virtual currencies. The European Banking Authority has also clarified its position that financial institutions should not buy or invest in virtual currency until a formal legal framework is in place. In December 2013, the Monetary Authority of Singapore reportedly stated that “this is a business decision in which MAS does not intervene to find out whether or not companies accept bitcoins in exchange for their goods and services.” [3]: Singapore The National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) has stated[141] that Bitcoin does not have the legal characteristics of a currency and therefore cannot be considered a currency. [Note 1] European legislation, including Slovak legislation, does not define activities related to virtual currency. These activities are not regulated and supervised by the National Bank of Slovakia or the European Central Bank. At the same time, LENB points out that legal or natural persons in the Slovak Republic are not allowed to issue banknotes or other coins.
The illegal production of banknotes and coins and their placing on the market are punishable by law. In this regard, NBS points out that virtual currencies do not have a physical counterparty in the form of legal tender and that participation in such a system (virtual currency) is at your own risk. The exchange or purchase of virtual currencies represents investors` commercial risk and investors` money is not protected. There is no legal right to compensation for losses caused by such exchanges or purchases. In 2017, Israeli tax authorities issued a statement saying that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies would not fall under the legal definition of currency, nor that of financial security, but as a taxable asset. [68] Every time a Bitcoin is sold, the seller would have to pay a capital gains tax of 25%. Miners, bitcoin traders would be treated like businesses and would have to pay corporate tax as well as levy a VAT of 17%. [69] Banks are not allowed to trade bitcoins due to concerns about financial crime and hacking. In addition, cryptocurrency is banned in the Qatar Financial Centre. [75] [76] Yes. Investors can buy cryptocurrencies in Italy and it is legal to do so.
With regard to the powers of sanction, the Association of Credit Intermediaries and Credit Intermediaries may exclude or remove from the special part of the register any natural or legal person who infringes the reporting obligations if he does not fulfil one of the conditions for carrying out his activity, if he repeatedly infringes the obligation to report data if he is inactive for more than one year, unless there is a legitimate reason, or they cease their activity. Absolute prohibition. [14] The use of any cryptocurrency is illegal in Nepal. [91] In December 2013, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) alluded to the legality of Bitcoin in an interview, stating, “Nothing would prevent people in this country from trading a company in another currency if they wanted to. There is no law against that, so we have competing currencies. [189] Starting in April 2018, Australian digital bureaux de change will be required to register with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre and implement know your customer guidelines to comply with new anti-money laundering laws. [190] In North Macedonia, there is no specific legislation on bitcoins or cryptocurrencies. The Autorité des Marchés Financiers, the financial regulator of the province of Quebec, has stated that certain business models related to bitcoin, including exchanges and ATMs, are regulated by its current MSB law.
[30] However, CONSOB quickly realized that such regulation of ICOs based on an ad hoc analysis of the characteristics of the tokens to be issued does not guarantee the level of legal and regulatory certainty necessary to promote ICOs. as a common method of financing new entrepreneurial initiatives. In January 2022, the Russian central bank proposed “to ban all issuance and operations of cryptocurrency, prevent banks from investing in cryptocurrencies, block the exchange of cryptocurrency for traditional currency, and introduce legal liability for the use of crypto in purchases,” citing systemic financial risks. [161] According to Bloomberg News and Meduza, the Federal Security Service has convinced the central bank to ban cryptocurrencies in Russia because they are used to fund the opposition and independent media. [162] [163] Finally, in February 2022, the Russian government announced that it would support, legalize, regulate and ban cryptocurrencies. [164] Specifically, as the lawyers have pointed out, the definition of financial products in Italian law is an “open” definition.