As much as banks do not fancy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, countries also are not fans of Bitcoin. They use reasons like; it is harmful to the economy, the government cannot control it, it encourages crime, it is too decentralized, etc.
Every year, there is always a news headline of one country banning cryptocurrency or another, creating weird policies to prevent its usage by the citizens in the country. For example, nearly every year, China bans Bitcoin or Bitcoin miners and so on. Nigeria is another country that “banned” cryptocurrency; it did not fully succeed, but it made things difficult for its citizens.
India is a country that has gone back and forth several times in terms of banning cryptocurrency. India’s Central Bank stated that they had resolved the confusion, saying that orders against cryptocurrency are no longer valid. This means that banks will not reject customers and companies because they deal with cryptocurrency, and the government will not crackdown on cryptocurrency exchanges.
But, we should not get too comfortable; this is not the end for the India and cryptocurrency duel. At some point, one politician or lawmaker may decide to implement a policy to ban or crackdown cryptocurrency and restrict citizens’ access to cryptocurrency.
No country can ban cryptocurrencies, the most that any country can do is make it difficult to get cash into or out of the market, but they can not stop the protocols or shut down the blockchains and protocols. These protocols are decentralized software running anywhere in the world that you can connect to the internet from.
India not banning cryptocurrency is a big deal because India is the fifth biggest economy in the world. There are so many crypto investors in India and so many crypto companies from India. The Central bank clearing the air means that it will now be easier for people in India to be on the crypto train.
Another good news regarding countries and cryptocurrency ban is that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s governor said that cryptocurrencies will now be legal. He said that cryptocurrency would “come to life” but did not explicitly reverse the ban on cryptocurrency, which the government implemented in February. Turns out that the Central Bank has been investigating the cryptocurrency space and what it is about, and the Nigerian government has promised to do its best in ensuring that cryptocurrency is not used for illicit and fraudulent activities.
Looking at this, it seems like they have finally seen the potential of Bitcoin and now want to do their research in finding how they can permit crypto operations and still prevent it from being abused.
Nigeria has been the hub of crypto activity for a long time. It is also the biggest economy in Africa, so it is a big deal that Nigerians can easily access cryptocurrencies.
But the thing with cryptocurrencies is that the more country governments understand how the protocols work, the more they realize that they cannot ban them. It is difficult for anyone to try to restrict access to cryptocurrencies.
