Brunei: No Ban, No Framework, No ATM, and Zero Personal Income Tax

Owning and trading cryptocurrency isn't illegal in Brunei, but there's currently no confirmed Bitcoin ATM anywhere in the country and no VASP licensing framework yet — the central bank has publicly said one is coming, aligned with FATF standards.

● Grey

$0 Personal income tax on any future crypto trading gains

0 Confirmed Bitcoin ATMs anywhere in the country today

2022 Year of Brunei's completed FATF Mutual Evaluation

Owning and trading cryptocurrency is not illegal in Brunei, and there is currently no confirmed crypto ATM anywhere in the country, with industry trackers explicitly confirming there are none as of this writing.¹ Brunei has essentially no crypto-specific legislation to date: the Brunei Darussalam Central Bank (BDCB, formerly known as Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam) does not recognise cryptocurrency as legal tender and has issued cautionary public statements since December 2017, most recently reminding the public of scam and volatility risks, without ever imposing an outright ban.^2,3 That is now genuinely changing: the BDCB has publicly acknowledged the rapid global growth of crypto and stated it is developing a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licensing and supervisory framework aligned with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards, with Brunei an active member of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering and having undergone a Mutual Evaluation in November 2022.⁴ The advantage is genuinely distinctive: Brunei has no personal income tax at all, meaning any future crypto trading gains for residents would not be taxed as income under the country's existing tax system, a rare and clean advantage compared to nearly every other market in this series.⁴ The obstacle is that Brunei's largest bank, BIBD (Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam), has reportedly restricted or blocked card purchases on crypto platforms, and with no licensing framework yet in force, there is no legal category a prospective ATM operator could register under today.⁴ As in most markets on our legislation map, General Bytes as a hardware and software vendor is not itself performing a licensable activity; it is the in-country operator of the machines who would need whatever framework the BDCB eventually finalises. For GENERAL BYTES, Brunei is a genuinely blank-slate market: no ban, no competing operator, no legal pathway yet either.

Last updated: August 2026

Regulatory Framework and Its Evolution

Brunei's approach to crypto has been consistently cautious but never prohibitive. The BDCB's founding statement on the topic, issued 22 December 2017, told the public plainly that cryptocurrencies are not legal tender in Brunei and are not regulated by the central bank, urging vigilance around privately issued digital assets.² That basic position, unregulated but not banned, has held for close to a decade, with the BDCB periodically repeating risk warnings (including one specifically addressing crypto mining and related scams) rather than moving to prohibit the activity outright.⁵ Brunei's broader legal system, a well-established common-law framework with engagement in international IP and financial-crime cooperation frameworks, gives the country credible institutional infrastructure to build a licensing regime on once it chooses to.

The clearest sign of forward motion is the BDCB's own acknowledgement that it is actively developing an appropriate legal and regulatory framework for licensing and supervising cryptocurrency-related activities, explicitly framed around FATF alignment rather than a bespoke, looser domestic standard.⁴ Brunei's participation in the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering and its November 2022 Mutual Evaluation both suggest this VASP framework, once published, will be built to satisfy international AML expectations from day one rather than needing later revision to catch up, a pattern that has caused friction in several other markets covered in this series.

Getting Licensed: Not Yet Possible

There is no VASP licence, registration, or any other crypto-specific authorisation available in Brunei today. Cryptocurrency activity currently falls into the same kind of legal grey area seen in several smaller markets in this series: not illegal, but also not licensable, because the specific legal category does not exist yet.⁴ Businesses resembling regulated financial services may fall under Brunei's existing general financial laws even without crypto-specific rules, but this article found no evidence of a defined pathway a crypto ATM operator specifically could follow today.³

As with the rest of our legislation map, whatever licence Brunei's eventual VASP framework requires would sit with the in-country operator of the machines, not with General Bytes as hardware and software vendor.

AML and KYC

With no licensing framework yet in force, there is no confirmed, mandated AML/KYC standard specific to crypto businesses in Brunei today. The BDCB's stated intention to align its future VASP framework with FATF standards, combined with Brunei's active APG membership and completed Mutual Evaluation, both suggest the eventual regime will include full customer due diligence and Travel Rule-equivalent obligations from the outset, consistent with the full-KYC direction seen throughout this series, rather than offering any meaningful anonymity tier.

Banking

Banking is a genuine, documented friction point already, even before any licensing framework exists: BIBD, Brunei's largest bank by assets and branch network, has been reported to restrict or block card purchases on crypto platforms.⁴ This suggests Brunei's banking sector is independently cautious about crypto exposure, a posture that is likely to persist, and possibly formalise, once a licensing framework gives banks a defined regulatory category to assess applicants against.

The Next 24 Months: Watching for the VASP Framework's Publication

The single most important thing to track in Brunei is the BDCB's own VASP licensing and supervisory framework moving from stated intention to published regulation. No firm timeline has been made public, but Brunei's completed FATF-aligned groundwork (APG membership, the 2022 Mutual Evaluation) suggests the technical preparation is further along than the public-facing legislative process might indicate.⁴ Brunei's own economic diversification strategy, publicly praised by ASEAN's Secretary-General for strengthening regional economic resilience, has also been explicitly linked by domestic commentary to crypto and fintech as an emerging avenue worth pursuing, suggesting political appetite exists alongside the technical groundwork.

For GENERAL BYTES, Brunei is a genuinely early-stage market to monitor rather than act on immediately: there is no ban to work around, no competing ATM operator to displace, and a tax environment (zero personal income tax) that would be uniquely favourable once a legal pathway exists. The practical recommendation is to track the BDCB's VASP framework directly and treat Brunei as a market to revisit in detail once that framework is actually published, rather than attempting to define a compliance strategy against a regulatory category that does not yet exist.

---

Sources and references

1. Confirmation of no current Bitcoin ATM in Brunei — atm.bitcoin.com
2. BDCB's December 2017 statement on crypto's non-legal-tender status — blog.upay.com
3. No crypto-specific legislation enacted to date; general financial law may apply to resembling activities — mondaq.com
4. BDCB developing FATF-aligned VASP framework, APG membership, zero personal income tax, BIBD card-purchase restrictions — startpolymarket.com
5. BDCB warnings on crypto mining and related scams — bdcb.gov.bn

Legal Disclaimer: This article by GENERAL BYTES is for informational purposes only and does not constitute formal legal, financial, or investment advice. Brunei currently has no crypto-specific licensing framework and one is under development; always consult specialised local legal counsel and confirm the current BDCB position before considering market entry.