Regulatory tracker
Where Is Monero Banned?
Monero is prohibited on regulated exchanges in a small group of jurisdictions and restricted in a much larger group. Holding Monero in a personal wallet remains legal in every country we track. Below is the current status, sourced from our country-by-country regulatory tracking.
Banned
The following 6 jurisdictions prohibit Monero on regulated exchanges. Holding Monero in a personal wallet remains legal in every jurisdiction below.
| Jurisdiction | What this means |
|---|---|
| Indonesia | No, you cannot buy Monero through any Indonesian regulated platform. |
| Japan | No, you cannot buy Monero through any licensed Japanese exchange. |
| South Korea | No, you cannot buy Monero on any South Korean domestic exchange. |
| Thailand | No, you cannot buy Monero through any regulated Thai exchange. |
| United Arab Emirates | No, you cannot buy Monero through any UAE-regulated platform. |
| Vietnam | No, you cannot buy Monero through any licensed Vietnamese platform. |
Restricted
The following 33 jurisdictions permit Monero but limit availability through exchange delistings, banking pressure, or AML rules. Holding remains legal; buying through regulated channels is harder or impossible.
| Jurisdiction | What this means |
|---|---|
| Argentina | Monero is restricted on most regulated platforms serving Argentina. |
| Australia | Monero availability in Australia is limited. |
| Austria | Monero is not available on regulated Austrian exchanges. |
| Belgium | Monero is not available on regulated Belgian exchanges. |
| Brazil | Monero has been restricted or delisted from most regulated Brazilian platforms under AML pressure. |
| Canada | Monero is not available on regulated Canadian exchanges. |
| Chile | Monero has been delisted from most regulated Chilean exchanges under AML pressure. |
| Colombia | Monero is restricted on most regulated platforms serving Colombia. |
| Denmark | Monero is not available on regulated Danish exchanges. |
| Finland | Monero is not available on regulated Finnish exchanges. |
| France | Monero is not available on regulated French exchanges. |
| Germany | Monero is not available on regulated German exchanges. |
| Hong Kong | Monero is not available on any SFC-licensed platform in Hong Kong. |
| India | Monero access in India is functionally restricted. |
| Ireland | Monero is not available on regulated Irish exchanges. |
| Israel | Monero has been delisted from most Israeli regulated exchanges under AML pressure. |
| Italy | Monero is not available on regulated Italian exchanges. |
| Luxembourg | Monero is not available on regulated Luxembourg exchanges. |
| Mexico | Monero is restricted on most regulated Mexican exchanges to maintain banking relationships under Banxico's strict crypto rules. |
| Netherlands | Monero is not available on regulated Dutch exchanges. |
| New Zealand | Monero is hard to buy through New Zealand's regulated exchanges and getting harder under the new CARF reporting rules. |
| Norway | Monero is not available on regulated Norwegian exchanges. |
| Philippines | Monero is restricted or delisted on most BSP-registered Filipino exchanges under AMLA scrutiny. |
| Poland | Monero is not available on regulated platforms serving Poland. |
| Portugal | Monero is not available on regulated Portuguese exchanges. |
| Singapore | Monero is not available on any MAS-licensed exchange in Singapore. |
| South Africa | Monero availability in South Africa is limited and tightening under CARF reporting requirements. |
| Spain | Monero is not available on regulated Spanish exchanges. |
| Sweden | Monero is not available on regulated Swedish exchanges. |
| Switzerland | Monero availability in Switzerland is mixed. |
| Taiwan | Monero has been delisted from most Taiwanese registered platforms under AML pressure. |
| Turkey | Monero is restricted on most regulated Turkish exchanges. |
| United Kingdom | Monero is not available on regulated UK exchanges. |
What "banned" vs "restricted" means
The terms get used interchangeably in news coverage. They are not the same thing.
- Banned means the jurisdiction has issued explicit guidance or regulation prohibiting regulated exchanges from listing the coin. Japan and South Korea are the cleanest examples: their financial regulators directed all licensed exchanges to delist privacy coins, and that directive remains in effect.
- Restricted means the coin is technically permitted but availability is limited in practice. The reasons vary: AML rules that exchanges cannot meet for privacy coins (most of the EU), voluntary delistings driven by compliance risk (UK, Canada), or banking pressure that makes listing impractical (parts of Latin America). The end result is similar: hard or impossible to buy through normal channels.
- Holding is legal everywhere we track. No jurisdiction in our coverage criminalizes ownership of Monero in a personal wallet. Regulations target exchanges and service providers, not individual holders.
If your jurisdiction is on this list
You have several paths forward depending on what you hold and what you want to do.
If you currently hold Monero and want to sell or exit: The non-custodial swap path still works in most jurisdictions. See our guide to selling Monero for the specific steps.
If you want to keep buying Monero from a restricted jurisdiction: Non-custodial swap services and peer-to-peer platforms remain accessible in most cases. Find your country's specific path on its jurisdiction page.
If you are choosing a privacy coin and regulatory exposure matters: Zcash is available in more jurisdictions than Monero because of its different privacy architecture. See Zcash vs Monero for the comparison, or the parallel page on where Zcash is banned.
If you are in the EU specifically: The MiCA regulation and the AMLR coming in 2027 are the structural reason most EU jurisdictions are restricted. See our MiCA delisting survival guide for what happens next.
Related reading
Status data sourced from per-jurisdiction tracking in our country guides. Last verified: May 2026. Regulatory situations change. If a status appears wrong, see the contact page.