{ "jurisdiction_id": "BD", "jurisdiction": "Bangladesh", "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/bangladesh/", "generator": "render_jid v13.3.0", "date_modified": "2026-08-17", "schema_version": "crypto-v2.0.0", "counts": { "modules": 8, "sourced_findings": 20, "source_register": 10 }, "modules": [ { "code": "crypto_licensing", "name": "Crypto Licensing", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/bangladesh/#crypto-licensing-crypto-licensing", "standing_position": "Bangladesh has no VASP licensing, registration or notification regime. Bangladesh Bank (BB) instead prohibits dealing in virtual assets/currencies outright, relying on the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 1947 (FERA) s.23(1), the Anti-Terrorism Act 2009 and the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012 rather than a dedicated crypto statute. The prohibition was first circularised 24 December 2017 and reaffirmed by FE Circular No. 24 of 15 September 2022. BB has separately told the Criminal Investigation Department that mere possession/holding, absent an FX, AML or terror-financing nexus, is not itself punishable, creating a grey enforcement zone alongside the formal transaction ban. The National Blockchain Policy 2026 explicitly excludes cryptocurrency trading, exchange operation and legal-tender status from its scope, confirming BB's continued exclusive jurisdiction rather than any liberalisation.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "token_classification", "name": "Token Classification", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/bangladesh/#token-classification-token-classification", "standing_position": "Bangladesh has no statutory taxonomy for crypto-assets. FERA 1947's definition of 'currency' does not recognise virtual currencies, and virtual assets are not an approved form of foreign exchange or investment. The National Blockchain Policy 2026 assigns tokenised securities and security-token offerings to BSEC under the Securities and Exchange Ordinance 1969, while explicitly excluding cryptocurrency trading. Stablecoins are grouped with broader private crypto assets rather than given a distinct classification.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "on_chain_activity_regime", "name": "On-Chain Activity Regime", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/bangladesh/#on-chain-activity-regime-on-chain-activity-regime", "standing_position": "Bangladesh Bank has issued no activity-specific rule addressing staking, DeFi, DEX operation, mining, node operation, validator activity or tokenisation. The general prohibition on dealing in and facilitating virtual-asset/virtual-currency exchange, transfer or trading is broad enough in wording to sweep up any means of acquiring or transacting in virtual currency, but no bespoke guidance exists. The National Blockchain Policy 2026 promotes permissioned enterprise tokenisation for trade/government use cases while explicitly excluding cryptocurrency-linked tokenisation.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "stablecoin_regime", "name": "Stablecoin Regime", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/bangladesh/#stablecoin-regime-stablecoin-regime", "standing_position": "No stablecoin-specific legal category exists in Bangladesh — hence no issuance authorisation, reserve requirement, redemption right or systemic designation regime. Despite the general FX prohibition on virtual-currency dealing, unofficial inflows of USDT and USDC are reported to circulate outside regulatory scrutiny, particularly in remittance-adjacent use. The National Blockchain Policy 2026 references CBDC development but treats private stablecoins as a subset of the broader crypto-asset category it excludes from scope.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "consumer_protection", "name": "Consumer Protection", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/bangladesh/#consumer-protection-consumer-protection", "standing_position": "Bangladesh Bank has issued repeated public warnings on the volatility, lack of legal backing, and financial/legal risk of dealing in virtual currencies, and has directed banks to post branch-level warning notices and increase monitoring. However, there is no bespoke consumer-protection statute for crypto-asset service providers covering custody segregation, complaint handling, or suitability/appropriateness — these categories are not applicable because no licensed VASP category is recognised.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "tax_treatment", "name": "Tax Treatment", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/bangladesh/#tax-treatment-tax-treatment", "standing_position": "No dedicated crypto tax legislation or verifiable primary NBR ruling on the tax treatment of cryptocurrency income or gains was located in this pass. General income-tax principles under Bangladesh's Income-tax Act would presumptively apply to any realised gains as unexplained/other income, but this is unconfirmed against a primary NBR circular or ruling and requires escalation.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "cross_border_transfer", "name": "Cross-Border Transfer", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/bangladesh/#cross-border-transfer-cross-border-transfer", "standing_position": "Cross-border transactions to obtain, transfer or retain proceeds in virtual assets/currencies are explicitly barred under FERA-based FE circulars. Retention of export proceeds abroad in cryptocurrencies is a contravention of FERA s.5(1)(e)(i), cognisable under s.23(1). Because cross-border crypto transfers are themselves prohibited outright, no separate crypto travel-rule or cross-border reporting framework exists — the restriction operates as an outright ban rather than a regulated/reported channel.", "findings": [ { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null }, { "finding": null, "instrument_type": null, "source": null, "source_url": null, "source_tier": null, "retrieved_at": null } ] }, { "code": "aml_cft_regime", "name": "AML/CFT Regime", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/bangladesh/#aml-cft-regime-aml-cft-regime", "standing_position": "Crypto AML/CFT obligations are subscribed from the FIM aml_ctf module per fleet doctrine; this baseline does not restate AML/CFT claims. For disambiguation context only: Bangladesh Bank has historically invoked the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012 as part of its rationale for treating cryptocurrency transactions as punishable, meaning AML exposure for crypto in Bangladesh is bound up with the general prohibition rather than a bespoke crypto-AML regime.", "findings": [] } ] }