Commonwealth advises member countries to declare Bitcoin legal

The report is the result of nearly a year of research conducted by the Commonwealth through its Working Group on Virtual Currencies. The report unveils that of the countries under its mandate, only Bangladesh had deemed that Bitcoin and alternative digital currencies were unlawful, and that even after this declaration, such activity continues unabated.

The paper provides an overview of developments in the Bitcoin and blockchain ecosystem, with sections ranging in coverage from its more positive use cases in payments and remittances to the use of the technology in cybercrime.

The Commonwealth of Nations includes 53 states in Africa, Asia the Caribbean, Europe and the Pacific, including such notable markets as Australia, Canada, India and South Africa.

On the subject of criminal offenses, the report recommends that member states move to ensure their laws apply to the technology while collaborating more broadly with other regulators around the globe. The report advises that regulations be applied as necessary to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, pointing out that, to date, this has meant overseeing ATM and exchange-related services.

However, the paper acknowledged lawmakers would need to take an innovative approach to any rulemaking, given that crimes can still be committed by digital currency users who are not converting funds into government-backed currencies.

The paper went on to encourage member states to make public statements on how the use of digital currencies falls under tax laws when they are used as a medium of exchange; update legislation related to the proceeds of crime; and extend consumer protection frameworks to cover the industry.