Country overview

#35

Georgia

Country stats

Rating Points

225

This indicator describes the overall rating of a given jurisdiction on several parameters according to cryptocurrency operations - market volume, crypto regulation, business climate, taxation framework.

Crypto Penetration

2.3%

Estimated percentage of crypto users out of the country's total population based on public data.

Legal Entities

Number of crypto companies registered in the country based on regulator data if available or other types of public data.

Regulation Points

160

An overall assessment of the granularity of crypto regulation in a given country. A high score is also given to countries where cryptocurrency transactions are highly regulated.

Amount of crypto users

85 100

Total amount of crypto users out of the country's total population based on public data.

Taxation points

This figure, according to our analysts' calculations, indicates the overall level of tax burden for cryptocurrency transactions in a given country. The higher the indicator, the lower the burden.

Market volume points

A rough estimate of this jurisdiction's retail crypto market relative to the rest of the world. The higher the indicator, the higher the market potential.

Status of crypto

Legally allowed

General status of cryptocurrency regulation in this jurisdiction.

Crypto payments

Legally allowed

The legal status of cryptocurrency payments for goods and services in a given country based on information from regulators, public data and feedback from our community.

Security Level

Minor danger

The overall level of security in a given country based on open data.

Crypto Salaries

No info

The legal status of cryptocurrency salaries to employers in a given country based on information from regulators, public data and feedback from our community.

Business Climate

Very Good

Overall assessment of the friendliness of this country for crypto-business. This indicator takes into account the cost of obtaining a license and the attitude towards crypto entities in the country.

Stablecoin Regulation

None

This indicator is evaluating the regulation of stablecoins in a given country. Complex regulation means that it is possible to issue steiblcoins and obtain a license for this activity. Basic regulation means that the issuance of stablecoins is possible, but not all legal aspects are defined in the law. Standard regulation means that there is a legal practice of steylcoin circulation in a given country.

Bad Factors

This section describes the unfavorable economic factors for crypto-business in a given country. These are countries that are under sanctions or on the FATF grey list and other factors.

Types of licenses

Crypto-to-crypto

This license type allows VASP to provide legal exchange from one cryptocurrency to another.

Crypto-to-fiat

This type of license regulates the exchange from cryptocurrency to fiat.

Wallet/Custody

This country has a legal licensing procedure for companies that store cryptocurrency - - crypto wallet providers and custodians.

Cryptofund

This indicator means that investment funds, trusts, and crypto funds can get regulator approval to provide their activity in the country.

Good

Medium

Bad

intro

Georgia is one of the most crypto-friendly countries in CIS. For instance, here 0% tax rate can be applied for taxation of crypto gains: if the crypto is sold to someone outside Georgia, the income from its sale is considered to be received from external sources and is not taxed.

Security level

Georgia has a minor danger security level, according to our rating. This jurisdiction has 73.8 points (from 100) for safety level in Numbeo crime rating (1). Homicide level (2) is 2 per 100,000 inhabitants a year. Story of firearm-related death (3) 1,44 per 100,000 inhabitants a year.

Crypto Payments

Crypto payments in Georgia have an uncertain legal status. According to Forklog (4), crypto payments in Georgia are forbidden by the Central Bank, but there are some exceptions for local VASPs. Tech portal Dev.by (5) confirms that crypto payments are still illegal in Georgia.

At the same time, in 2022, Cointelegraph (6) presented a new crypto-payment service for local merchants. This service enables merchants to make crypto payments through partnerships with companies such as CityPay and Gate. Also Georgian companies and individuals can get crypto payments for goods and services in the form of barter exchange. As for the end of 2024 local tax authority accepts barter crypto transactions as legal income confirmation.

Probably there is a legal conflict between rules implemented by National Bank of Georgia and approach of local tax authorities. However, we may conclude that even direct crypto payments are formally forbidden, barter exchange of crypto for goods and services is legal at the same time.

Crypto Salaries

Formally, crypto salaries as a part of crypto payments are illegal. But at least individual enterpreneurs can get crypto as rewards for their services.

Legal

Cryptocurrency and its exchange were legal in Georgia since 2019. Legalization was based on the resolution of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia (the document was not found on the Internet). As of 2019, the country's Ministry of Finance has started to provide PSP licenses for cryptocurrency transactions, including cryptocurrency exchanges. The authorized capital for such license is 250,000 GEL.

Developing a mining business legally and exempting it from taxes is also possible. For this purpose, opening a legal entity in the free economic zone (FEZ) is necessary.

Previously crypto exchange didn't need any license. However from July 2023, registration has become mandatory (7). New legislative package provided for convergence with three EU directives - on payment services, capital requirements, and virtual asset service providers. Information about registered VASPs in Georgia and their list and regulations on this topic is published on the website of the National Bank. As for the end of 2024 19 legal entities are officially registered as VASPs and have official approval.

Taxation

Tax name	Index
PIT tax Min	20
PIT tax Max	20
Corporate tax (CIT)	15
Min Individual CGT (for crypto)	0
Max Individual CGT (for crypto)	0
Wealth tax Min	0
Wealth tax Max	0
Mining tax	15
TDS tax	0

CGT

Individuals do not pay tax when selling crypto; it is considered a profit from foreign sources.

PIT

According to PWC (8), Georgia has a flat personal income tax rate of 20%. Legal entities must pay tax on profits from the exchange. Still, in Georgia, there are also free economic zones (FEZ), and there is a possibility of getting a tax reduction operating there.

CIT

Based on PWC (9), the CIT rate is flat at 15%. The 20% rate applies to commercial banks, credit unions, microfinance organizations, and loan providers from 1 January 2023.

Links

1)Crime Index by Country 2023 Mid-Year

2)List of countries by intentional homicide rate

3)List of countries by firearm-related death rate

4)Forklog. Rules for miners and a step towards taxes: how post-Soviet countries regulated the bitcoin market in 2022

5)In Tbilisi you can buy an apartment with bitcoins. How are things with crypto in Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan?

6)Georgian vendors get crypto payment options with the new partnership.

7)THE NATIONAL BANK OF GEORGIA HAS APPROVED THE RULE OF VIRTUAL ASSET SERVICE PROVIDER REGISTRATION

8)Georgia. Individual - Taxes on personal income. PWC

9)Georgia. Overview. PWC

Last update: December 2024

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The State of Crypto Regulation in 2023

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intro

Security level

Crypto Payments

Crypto Salaries

Formally, crypto salaries as a part of crypto payments are illegal. But at least individual enterpreneurs can get crypto as rewards for their services.

Legal

Developing a mining business legally and exempting it from taxes is also possible. For this purpose, opening a legal entity in the free economic zone (FEZ) is necessary.

Taxation

Tax name	Index
PIT tax Min	20
PIT tax Max	20
Corporate tax (CIT)	15
Min Individual CGT (for crypto)	0
Max Individual CGT (for crypto)	0
Wealth tax Min	0
Wealth tax Max	0
Mining tax	15
TDS tax	0

CGT

Individuals do not pay tax when selling crypto; it is considered a profit from foreign sources.

PIT

CIT

Based on PWC (9), the CIT rate is flat at 15%. The 20% rate applies to commercial banks, credit unions, microfinance organizations, and loan providers from 1 January 2023.

Links

1)Crime Index by Country 2023 Mid-Year

2)List of countries by intentional homicide rate

3)List of countries by firearm-related death rate

4)Forklog. Rules for miners and a step towards taxes: how post-Soviet countries regulated the bitcoin market in 2022

5)In Tbilisi you can buy an apartment with bitcoins. How are things with crypto in Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan?

6)Georgian vendors get crypto payment options with the new partnership.

7)THE NATIONAL BANK OF GEORGIA HAS APPROVED THE RULE OF VIRTUAL ASSET SERVICE PROVIDER REGISTRATION

8)Georgia. Individual - Taxes on personal income. PWC

9)Georgia. Overview. PWC

Last update: December 2024