Crypto payments abroad may be legal despite domestic bans in several countries

The popularity of stablecoins for cryptocurrency payments has increased in recent years, with many global companies embracing new payment methods.

Despite the trend, crypto payments remain prohibited for retail users in multiple countries, including China, Indonesia, Russia, Turkey and others.

Still, while domestic crypto payments may be banned in these jurisdictions, using cryptocurrency to pay for services abroad may be legally permissible, according to some legal experts and observers of crypto regulation.

“As a general rule, the laws of a country apply only to events occurring within that country or to its own citizens,” said Meric Paldimoglu, a lawyer in Turkey and managing partner of Paldimoglu Law Firm.

Can Russian and Turkish residents pay in crypto for foreign services?

In early June 2025, Georgian travel company Tripzy began accepting payments in Tether’s USDt (USDT) stablecoin via the CityPay infrastructure, allowing international clients to book services using the stablecoin.

“We started accepting cryptocurrency to offer our clients more freedom and convenience in payment,” a Tripzy spokesperson told Cointelegraph. “This is especially relevant for guests from countries with currency restrictions or just for those who value the speed of transactions,” the spokesperson added.

Given that Georgia relies heavily on tourism from countries like Russia and Turkey — where crypto payments are restricted for residents — the new feature raises questions about the legality of cross-border payments for travelers from these jurisdictions.

However, there are no laws explicitly prohibiting the use of cryptocurrency for payments made abroad.

Nationals of Russia and Turkey are among the top visitors to Georgia. Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia“Russian Federal Law No. 259 On Digital Financial Assets has never prohibited the use of cryptocurrency for payments made outside of Russia,” Yuriy Brisov, founder of D&A CryptoMap, told Cointelegraph. He said that the Russian laws currently only forbid residents from accepting crypto specifically for contractual purposes.

Paldimoglu shared a similar perspective while addressing the issue in relation to the Turkish laws.

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“When a Turkish citizen shops from a company based abroad, Turkish law does not apply,” the lawyer stated. He said the Regulation on the Disuse of Crypto Assets in Payments specifically applies to licensed payment and electronic money institutions operating in Turkey.

“So it is legal for Turkish citizens to shop on foreign websites, and I do not believe this would cause any issues between Georgia and Turkey,” he added.

Regulatory overlaps raise flags for global authorities

While not creating new explicit conflicts between the jurisdictions that allow crypto payments and those that do not, such regulatory overlaps are more likely to attract the attention of global authorities, according to Brisov.

“If Georgian companies, like Tripzy, start accepting crypto from Russian tourists, this may be seen in Brussels as a loophole,” he said, adding:

“If Tripzy only sold tours to Georgia or other countries that did not impose or support Russian sanctions, it would be perfectly compliant. However, if Georgia becomes a gateway to the world for Russian money, it will face international pressure and have to choose sides.”

Related: BIS says stablecoins fail as money, calls for strict limits on their role

A single travel agency may not trigger any sanctions from European authorities, though, Brisov suggested. Still, if patterns emerge, the response could escalate — not from Russia but from the global system that enforces compliance, he speculated.

FATF warns about growing illicit stablecoin use

Brisov’s remarks align with recent warnings from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on the increasing role of stablecoins in facilitating illicit transactions.

“Since 2024, the use of stablecoins by illicit actors, including DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] actors and terrorist financiers, has risen, with most onchain illicit activity now involving stablecoins,” the FATF stated in an update on the implementation of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) measures in crypto.

Table of steps taken by all FATF members and jurisdictions with materially important VASP toward implementing R.15. Source: FATFThe agency also provided a detailed report on various AML measures taken by FATF member countries and other jurisdictions and pledged to provide a targeted report on stablecoins in the first quarter of 2026.

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