As at end of 2021, a total of 51 countries have placed ban on the use and trade of Cryptocurrencies within their economies. 

Report by Library for Congress (LoC) revealed that nine countries placed absolute ban on cryptocurrency, while 42 countries placed implicit restrictions on the digital assets.

The report also revealed that total number of jurisdictions with an absolute ban or total restrictions on cryptocurrency has more than doubled in the last 3 years. The nine jurisdictions with an absolute ban include Algeria, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco,  Oman, Qatar, and Tunisia.

According to the  report, as of November 2021, 103 jurisdictions have in one way or the other attempted to regulate cryptocurrencies in terms of the issuance of tax laws, anti-money laundering and combatting the funding of terrorism (AML/CFT) laws, or both. This represents a 212.12% increase from 2018, where only 33 jurisdictions were found to have regulated cryptocurrencies. These jurisdictions include the European Union Member States, with the exception of Bulgaria.  

Library of Congress is the research library for the United States Senate, which acts as the national library for the country. In the context of the LOC report, an absolute ban means any “transactions with or holding cryptocurrency is a criminal act”, whereas an implicit ban prohibits cryptocurrency exchanges, banks, and other financial institutions from “dealing in cryptocurrencies or offering services to individuals/businesses dealing in cryptocurrencies.” 

Despite the clampdown on crypto by some government authorities, the cryptocurrency market exploded in terms of market size and performance in 2021. 

The government of El-Salvador in 2021 legalised Bitcoin as legal tender in the country. 

It is expected that in 2022, more countries will move to ban cryptocurrencies either absolute or implicit, owing to the fact that many countries have started introducing their own central bank digital currencies, CBDCs.

Full List of Countries that Have Implemented Ban on Cryptocurrency

1.  Algeria  — Absolute ban
2. Bahrain — Implicit ban
3. Bangladesh — Absolute ban
4. Benin —  Implicit ban
5. Bolivia — Implicit ban
6. Burkina Faso — Implicit ban 
7. Burundi — Implicit ban
8. Cameroom — Implicit ban
9. Central African Republic — Implicit ban
10. Chad — Implicit ban
11. China  — Absolute ban
12. Cote d`Ivoire — Implicit ban
13. Democratic Republic of Congo — Implicit ban
14. Ecuador — Implicit ban
15. Egypt  — Absolute ban
16. Gabon — Implicit ban
17. Georgia — Implicit ban
18. Guyana — Implicit ban
19. Indonesia — Implicit ban
20. Iraq —  Absolute ban
21. Jordan — Implicit ban
22. Kazakhstan — Implicit ban
23. Kuwait — Implicit ban
24. Lebanon — Implicit ban
25. Lesotho — Implicit ban
26. Libya — Implicit ban
27. Macao — Implicit ban
28. Maldives — Implicit ban
29. Mali — Implicit ban
30. Moldova — Implicit ban
31. Morocco  — Absolute ban
32. Namibia — Implicit ban
33. Nepal  — Absolute ban
34. Niger — Implicit ban
35. Nigeria — Implicit ban
36. Oman — Implicit ban
37. Pakistan — Implicit ban
38. Palau — Implicit ban
39. Qatar  — Absolute ban
40. Saudi Arabia — Implicit ban
41. Senegal — Implicit ban
42. Tajikistan — Implicit ban
43. Tanzania — Implicit ban
44. Togo — Implicit ban
45. Tunisia  — Absolute ban
46. Turkey — Implicit ban
47. Turkmenistan — Implicit ban
48. United Arab Emirates — Implicit ban
49. Vietnam — Implicit ban
50. Zimbabwe — Implicit ban