Bangladesh Bank: Don’t use cryptocurrency

Bangladesh Bank (BB) still considers that cryptocurrency bears financial and legal risks for its users and asked people to refrain from transacting or trading using such blockchain technology.

In a BB circular on Thursday, the central bank clarified its stance on the use of cryptocurrency after several reports published in the media in this regard caught its attention.

According to BB, contrary to the published reports, which claimed that trade and transactions using cryptocurrency is not illegal unless it has been linked to money laundering, terrorist financing, and other violations of existing laws; the central bank still holds a hostile approach towards this particular fin-tech.

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“A confidential letter sent to an investigating officer of a particular case entailing an opinion has been upheld partially in the media,” stated the BB circular.

Highlighting its previous notice on the matter earlier on December 24, 2017, it further stated: “The notification is still being displayed on the BB website and the stance in this regard remains unchanged.” 

“In this context, it is being reiterated to the public that no virtual currency/cryptocurrency is approved by Bangladesh Bank,” the circular added. 

It asked the public to refrain from trading or assisting in any type of cryptocurrency or virtual currency such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, etc.

In its notice on December 24, 2017, BB said: “As these are not legal tenders issued by any legal authorities of the country, no one can make any financial claim against these.”

It said the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 does not support the use of such currencies either and online transactions in these currencies with unnamed people or people with pseudonyms may violate the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012. 

The notice also said that users of cryptocurrencies in Bangladesh may put themselves at financial and legal risks.

“In this situation, the people are requested not to make transactions in virtual currencies like Bitcoin, or promote these or help others make such transactions in order to avoid possible financial and legal risks,” it said.