Turkmenistan officially legalizes crypto exchanges and mining, although digital assets are not yet recognized as a form of payment.
Crypto Law of Turkmenistan Now Effective
As reported by the Associated Press, the Asian nation of Turkmenistan officially recognized cryptocurrency mining and trading as legal on Thursday. The move comes after President Serdar Berdymukhamedov signed a law back in November, which allowed crypto companies to receive registration from January 1.
Located in Central Asia, Turkmenistan was a republic of the Soviet Union before gaining independence following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Today, the country is considered one of the most segregated countries in the world, due to the state’s strict control over the media, internet access, and foreign business activities.
Home to over seven million people, Turkmenistan’s economy depends on its natural gas reserves, which rank as the fifth largest in the world. China is its main customer at the moment, with a pipeline project aimed at supplying gas to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India in the works.
In a nation known for its strict state regulation, the move to embrace crypto marks a significant change. However, while the country has opened up to exchange firms and mines, it has yet to legalize digital assets as a form of payment, currency, or security.
Turkmenistan is not the only Central Asian country that has made progress related to the digital goods sector recently. Uzbekistan, located north of Turkmenistan, signed a measure related to stablecoin payments in November, authorizing the introduction of a regulatory sandbox on January 1st.
Elsewhere in the region, Iran has taken a bolder approach, promising to sell advanced weapons systems to foreign governments in crypto, according to a report in the Financial Times. The nation is willing to exchange missiles, drones, and warships for digital assets in an effort to bypass western financial controls, according to a report.
Bitcoin Stuck In A Consolidation Lately
While nations are moving forward with crypto legislation, the market is stuck in a consolidation phase recently, and the price of Bitcoin cannot stay in one place.
As the chart below shows, BTC has been between $85,000 and $90,000 over the past few weeks.
The trend in the price of the coin over the last month | Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView
The market decline was naturally not limited to Bitcoin; altcoins have also experienced old price action. Ethereum, for example, has a positive return of more than 2% in the last month, which is not much different from BTC’s small decrease of 2%.
Over the past day, Bitcoin has rebounded to the upper end of the range, and its price is currently trading around $89,500. Judging by the recent pattern, it is possible that this recovery effort may be over, but it remains to be seen how things will play out in the coming days.
Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com
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