What is cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency is a kind of digital money, or token, that exists only on the internet. Taka notes have Bangladesh Bank behind them; crypto has no government, bank or company behind it. Owning some means that a number of tokens are recorded in a digital ledger against a secret code that only you hold.
Nobody pays you interest or profit for holding crypto; its price is simply what others are willing to pay for it. Bangladesh Bank has said that dealing in it is not permitted in the country.
Say Arif hears from friends that some people doubled their money in a few weeks with a new coin. He uses Tk 20,000 saved from tutoring to buy it through someone he met online. The price rises in the first week, then suddenly falls below half. And since the deal did not go through any approved channel, he has no bank or institution to complain to. This is an imaginary example.
How it works
A cryptocurrency is a digital token held on a computer network. Who owns how much is recorded in a public ledger called a “blockchain”, kept up to date not by one institution but by thousands of computers together. Bitcoin is the oldest and best known; thousands of other tokens have been created since.
Crypto pays no interest or dividend, and no one is obliged to repay what you put in. Its price is set purely by supply and demand: by what others will pay for it in future. So prices react very quickly to news, rumour and mood.
Abroad, crypto is usually bought and sold on online exchanges and held in digital “wallets”. If you lose the wallet’s secret key (private key or seed phrase), or someone else learns it, there is usually no way to get the money back, because there is no bank or regulator to complain to.
Bitcoin rose to about $20,000 at the end of 2017 and fell to about $3,200 in December 2018, a drop of more than 80%. From about $68,000 in November 2021 it fell below $20,000 by mid-2022, a drop of more than 70%. Someone who bought the equivalent of Tk 100,000 at the peak would have seen it fall below Tk 30,000 within months.
The legal position in Bangladesh
Cryptocurrency is not legal tender in Bangladesh, and there is no licensed exchange or regulatory framework for trading it. Bangladesh Bank has issued several public warnings on the subject:
- September 2014
- A warning not to deal in virtual currencies such as bitcoin, saying this could breach foreign-exchange and money-laundering laws.
- December 2017
- Another warning: virtual currencies are not authorised by any authority, and dealing in them could breach the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 1947, the Anti-Terrorism Act 2009 and the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012.
- September 2022
- A circular told everyone to refrain from dealing in virtual assets and currencies, and barred banks, financial institutions and mobile financial services from facilitating it. It said transactions breaching the instruction are punishable under section 23(1) of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, which allows up to 7 years’ imprisonment, a fine or both.
Why foreign-exchange rules matter
Sending money out of Bangladesh is controlled under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 1947; it can be sent only for approved purposes (such as study, medical treatment, travel or imports). Buying crypto is not one of them. So sending money to a foreign exchange by card or any other route raises issues under this law.
In 2022 Bangladesh Bank also warned exporters not to accept export proceeds in crypto. Freelancers’ and expatriates’ earnings are likewise meant to come in through formal banking channels.
There is policy debate about a regulatory framework for crypto, and Bangladesh Bank has reportedly been studying a central bank digital currency (CBDC) of its own. But when this page was updated (October 2026), we found no announcement withdrawing the 2022 restriction. The law can change; check Bangladesh Bank’s website for the current position.
Crypto-themed scams
- “Guaranteed” daily profit
- Promises of fixed daily profit from crypto trading, mining or an “AI bot”. When crypto prices themselves are uncertain, guaranteed profit is not possible.
- Fake exchanges or wallets
- Websites or apps that look real, where your balance grows but cannot be withdrawn.
- Requests for your seed phrase or password
- Asking for your secret key in the name of “support” or “verification”; giving it away means losing everything.
- Hyped new tokens
- “The next bitcoin” promoted on social media; many tokens collapse to near zero once the promoters sell.
- Exchanges that collapse
- Even large exchanges abroad have failed, including one of the world’s largest in 2022, leaving customers’ money stuck.
What return to expect
Crypto has no “normal” return. At times prices have multiplied in a few months; at other times they have dropped 70–80% in a few months. Many lesser-known tokens have become completely worthless.
In Bangladesh there is an added legal risk: under Bangladesh Bank’s 2022 circular, dealing in it is not permitted, and if you are defrauded there is no regulated complaints route or protection.
Why people choose it
- Learning about blockchain as a technology can be useful, and needs no money.
- Some countries allow crypto trading within a regulated framework; Bangladesh has no such framework.
Points to weigh
- Prices swing wildly; large losses can come quickly.
- Bangladesh Bank instructions do not permit dealing in it; there is a risk of penalties under foreign-exchange law.
- No deposit or investor protection; lose the key or get scammed and there is no way back.
- Crypto-themed fraud is very common, and real and fake are hard to tell apart.
- No interest, dividend or rent; any gain depends only on the price rising.
Tax
Bangladesh has no specific tax rules for crypto, because dealing in it is not permitted in the first place. There is therefore no recognised way to report or set off gains or losses from it as you would a lawful investment.
For Bangladeshis living abroad, that country’s law and tax rules may differ; bringing money into Bangladesh still has to follow formal banking-channel rules.
Tax rules can change with each year’s Finance Act. Before a big decision, check the latest rules or speak to a tax adviser.
How to get started
- Read Bangladesh Bank’s latest notice on virtual currencies on its website.
- If you want to understand blockchain and crypto, learn from books, courses or reliable writing without putting money in.
- Treat any offer to “invest” in crypto, especially one promising guaranteed profit, as a possible sign of fraud.
- Never give anyone a wallet seed phrase, password or OTP.
- If defrauded, keep screenshots and transaction details and report to the police or the police cyber crime unit.
Check before you start
- Have I read Bangladesh Bank’s current position myself?
- Is someone promising a guaranteed or fixed rate of profit?
- Where is the money going: to a person’s number, or abroad?
- What would happen to me if the price fell 70–80%?
- Is anyone asking for my seed phrase, password or OTP?