In recent years, many countries have taken steps towards recognising cryptocurrency as legal and safe tender. An integral factor in this progress is the regulation of the crypto industry.

A few days ago in the UK, the House of Lords approved the Financial Services and Markets Bill (FSMB), meaning that all crypto will be treated as a regulated activity in the UK. However, there remain numerous countries which have yet to implement regulatory framework for crypto. This leaves crypto markets in these unregulated countries at risk of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Throughout the year the Financial Action Task Force identifies countries with weak measures and adds them to the crypto grey list in order to identify which countries are in need of reform.

At BanklessTimes.com we decided to investigate the current crypto regulations in countries around the globe and identify which countries are most at risk of being added to the grey list next in 2023.

The countries identified at risk are:

Bangladesh
Algeria
India
China
Bolivia
Egypt
Ghana
Iraq
North Macedonia
Nepal
Jonathan Merry, CEO of BanklessTimes.com commented:

“We’re seeing countries like Iraq, and in particular the Kurdistan region which would actively benefit from using a cryptocurrency such as Kurdcoin, adopting the blunt-instrument approach of an outright ban. Rather than engaging with virtual asset service providers to set up clear guidelines and framework, the governments are outlawing cryptocurrencies and this is pushing them further underground. With many countries overdue a mutual evaluation, we hope that the threat of being moved onto the grey list will give governments the momentum to work alongside the FATF to adopt a more realistic and safer stance towards virtual assets.”