Crypto Exchange Restrictions: What Blocks You and Where You Can Still Trade

When you hit a crypto exchange restrictions, rules that prevent users from buying, selling, or withdrawing crypto on certain platforms based on their location or identity. Also known as geo-blocking, it’s not just about technical limits—it’s about legal pressure, sanctions, and compliance. If you’ve ever tried to log into Coinbase, Binance, or any other exchange and seen "This service isn’t available in your country," you’ve run into one of these walls. These aren’t random glitches. They’re deliberate moves by exchanges to avoid fines, lawsuits, or being shut down entirely by governments.

Take China, a country where owning crypto isn’t illegal, but trading, mining, and using exchanges are completely banned. Also known as digital yuan policy, it means over 58 million wallets sit there with no legal recourse if funds disappear. Or look at Brazil, where the Central Bank now caps forex conversions at $10,000 and forces users to report every crypto transaction. Also known as BCB crypto restrictions, it turns everyday trading into paperwork. Meanwhile, the U.S. uses OFAC sanctions, a tool to freeze assets and block access for entities tied to North Korean hacking, Myanmar scams, or other illicit networks. Also known as financial blacklisting, it’s why some exchanges won’t let users from certain countries even sign up. These aren’t isolated cases—they’re part of a global patchwork where your location decides whether you can trade, how much you can move, and if your money is even protected.

It’s not just about big countries. Smaller exchanges like Altsbit and Libre got crushed not because they were scams, but because they ignored local rules. Others, like MM Finance or DogeSwap, never had the resources to even try. Meanwhile, platforms like Coinbase block access in 63+ countries—not because they want to, but because they have to. The result? A fragmented crypto world where your access depends on where you live, who you’re connected to, and whether your country is on a sanctions list.

What you’ll find below isn’t a list of banned apps. It’s a real-world map of where crypto is allowed, restricted, or outright outlawed—and why. You’ll see how a failed airdrop in 2021 connects to today’s regulatory crackdowns. How a hack on a tiny exchange led to broader trust issues. How a meme coin’s collapse ties into the same systems that shut down entire markets. This isn’t theory. It’s what’s happening right now, in real time, to real people trying to use crypto.