Yemen Cryptocurrency Laws Regulation of Digital Currencies: Cryptocurrency, Bitcoins, Blockchain Technology
Yemen is going through the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis given its civil war. Cryptocurrency has become a weapon in Yemen’s civil war, currently half of the country is controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi militant group, which has developed its own cryptocurrency. It appears that using digital currency in a war zone may be riskier than cash, especially when illicit actors use cryptocurrency as well as civilians. [1] According to Cointobuy’s analysis the country has the worst position in the safety rank: 249 out of 249 countries, 0.1/10 safety rank. [2]
Also, for most people in Yemen, engaging in cryptocurrency business is nearly impossible due to the lack of safety and reliable internet or phone connection in most of the country. It’s difficult for civilians to acquire cryptocurrency without a heavily regulated infrastructure that makes them vulnerable to coercion and surveillance. Such is the case in Yemen, where the Iran-backed Houthi militia controls the northern half of the country and a failing government controls the central bank in the south. It’s a controversial situation for the cryptocurrency market. [3]
P.S. Insights on Cryptocurrency Legal Issues
Most jurisdictions and authorities have yet to enact laws governing cryptocurrencies, meaning that, for most countries, the legality of crypto mining remains unclear.
Under the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), crypto miners are considered money transmitters, so they may be subject to the laws that govern that activity. In Israel, for instance, crypto mining is treated as a business and is subject to corporate income tax. In India and elsewhere, regulatory uncertainty persists, although Canada and the United States are relatively friendly to crypto mining.
However, apart from jurisdictions that have specifically banned cryptocurrency-related activities, very few countries prohibit crypto mining.
Our Freeman Law Cryptocurrency Law Resource page provides a summary of the legal status of cryptocurrency for each country across the globe with statutory or regulatory provisions governing cryptocurrency. The globe below provides links to country-by-country summaries:
[1] Yemen’s Civil War Shows the Danger of Crypto, Coindesk, (Feb. 28, 2020). Available at https://www.yahoo.com/news/yemen-civil-war-shows-dangers-210006196.html
[2] Cryptocurrency Analysis, “Ultimate crypto investment safety rankings”, (Jun. 4, 2021). Available at https://cointobuy.io/countries/yemen
