Regulations have always been a risk to Bitcoin. Keeping an eye on regulatory developments is, therefore, high on the agenda of bitcoin enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, and investors. Fortunately, last month saw a number of countries make positive regulatory moves.

A French court decided that bitcoin is a legally recognized currency while the Indian Supreme Court overturned the Indian central bank’s crypto banking ban. Additionally, South Korea has now fully legalized crypto assets within its borders.

Bitcoin is now legal tender in France

The French newspaper Les Echos reported on March 5 that the Tribunal de Commerce de Nanterre, a commercial court, has determined that bitcoin is a fungible intangible asset. As such, it is de facto on par with fiat currency, which falls under the same categorization in France.

The impact of this ruling is positive for French blockchain entrepreneurs as it will facilitate payments in digital currency as well as the creation of crypto-based financial products. Moreover, it has the potential to increase the public perception of crypto as a whole.

The decision arose from a dispute between Paris-based digital asset exchange Paymium and digital asset manager BitSpread over a 1,000 BTC loan and the non-repayment of funds created through the 2017 Bitcoin hard fork that birthed Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

Hubert de Vauplane, a lawyer at Kramer & Levin, told Les Echos: "The scope of this decision is considerable because it allows bitcoin to be treated like money or other financial instruments. It will, therefore, facilitate bitcoin transactions, such as lending or repo transactions, which are growing, and thus favor the liquidity of the cryptocurrency market."

India’s Supreme Court overturns RBI’s crypto banking ban

In a much-anticipated landmark ruling, the Supreme Court of India overturned the Reserve Bank of India’s order to prevent banks from providing banking services to individuals and businesses that deal in cryptocurrency.

"The position is that [virtual currencies] are not banned, but the trading in VCs and the functioning of VC exchanges are sent to comatose by the impugned Circular by disconnecting their lifeline namely […]. What is worse is that this has been done (i) despite RBI not finding anything wrong about the way in which these exchanges function and (ii) despite RBI not finding anything wrong about the way in which these exchanges function and (ii) despite the fact that VCs are not banned", the court stated.

As a result, digital asset business in India can now legally interact with the country’s banking sector to provide rupee-to-crypto on and off-ramps. This is a huge win for the country’s blockchain industry and, potentially, for the global crypto markets as the demand potential for “digital gold” could be substantial in a country that adores gold.

The excitement about the ruling could be felt when scrolling through Crypto Twitter on the day following the ruling. Nischal Shetty, the founder and CEO of the digital asset exchange WazirX, which was recently acquired by Binance, tweeted: “Crypto has won in India. We won!”

While celebrations are merited, the Indian crypto community still has to wait for a pending bill that would restrict the trading and use of cryptographic assets before it really starts to get out the champagne.

South Korea says “yes” to crypto

On March 5, the South Korean National Assembly passed new legislation that can be described as the most comprehensive national crypto asset legislation we have seen to date.

The amendment to the Act on Reporting and Use of Specific Financial Information fully recognizes cryptographic assets as part of the country’s financial system and as such, legalizes the trading and holding of digital assets.

While South Korea was already one of the biggest trading hubs and global blockchain innovation centers, the new regulation is poised to path the way for more crypto companies setting up shop in the Asian nation while traditional financial companies now have the legal framework to also compete in this market.

The new legislation will mean more regulation to adhere to, which may cost companies more in legal and compliance costs. However, for investors, the South Korean crypto market is about to become much safer.