Say the word “cryptocurrency” in a room full of finance elites, and you might ruffle feathers. Due to its untraceability—thanks to blockchain—central banks find it difficult to grant legal status to digital assets. Funds are hard to trace, undermining their responsibility to issue effective monetary policies.
However, this uncertain stance has not stopped the adoption of cryptocurrencies in Africa, where people use digital currencies as a means of payment, investment, or for real-world retail purchases.
The state of crypto licensing across African countries in 2025 is highly varied, with a small but growing number of countries establishing clear legal regimes for crypto businesses, while others ban or severely restrict such activities. Many countries remain undecided or lack formal frameworks entirely.
Here’s the state of crypto licencing in Africa:
Botswana
Botswana earns a top spot on this list for being the first African country to issue any form of crypto licence. In 2022, Botswana enacted the Virtual Assets Act, becoming the first African country to issue a crypto licence.
Yellow Card Botswana, a subsidiary of the stablecoin service provider, became the inaugural licencee in September 2022, under the oversight of the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA).
Yellow Card Botswana remains the only officially licenced operator in the country. Though other firms have shown interest, no further licences have been publicly issued as of 2025.
South Africa
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) began accepting applications for crypto-asset service provider (CASP) licences in June 2023 under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act.
By the end of 2024, 248 licences had been approved out of 420 applications. A further 106 applicants withdrew, nine were declined, and 56 remained under review. South Africa’s licencing process aims to ensure that service providers meet standards related to business conduct, financial soundness and operational capability.
Prominent licenced crypto companies include VALR, Luno, Altcoin Trader, ChainEX, Kotani Pay and Wealth Tap. These platforms are authorised to offer advisory, intermediary and asset management services. VALR alone serves more than 600,000 retail and 1,000 institutional customers and is eyeing expansion beyond Africa.
In South Africa, banks are also open to providing services to crypto firms, which is critical for operations, allowing customer deposits, and maintaining liquidity. Absa and Standard Bank service some of these licenced crypto firms. Both banks have also been exploring partnerships with decentralised finance (DeFi) platforms to offer blockchain-based financial services to businesses and consumers.
Nigeria
Nigeria is famous for its blanket ban in 2021, when it barred banks from providing financial services to crypto firms. However, the country has since made a U-turn.
In December 2023, it lifted the ban. However, banks—fearing fines—are still wary of providing financial services to crypto players due to the unclear stance of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
On the regulatory side, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began granting provisional licences in August 2024. Quidax and Busha were the first crypto firms to be provisionally approved under an incubation programme, with more startups in the pipeline.
In March 2025, crypto received legal status in Nigeria as “securities” after President Bola Tinubu signed the Investment and Securities Act (2025). Nigeria is the only other country, apart from Malaysia, that treats cryptocurrencies as securities, and there has been debate over the accuracy of this classification.
According to the SEC, crypto companies must also meet strict compliance standards, such as integrating Chainalysis into transaction monitoring, and must meet a capital threshold set at ₦500 million.
Regulatory friction has also been a concern, notably following the 2024 detention of Binance executives, which signalled the government’s firm stance on unlicenced operations.
This has limited the participation of foreign crypto companies in the country, with only Bitget and Bybit currently active as peer-to-peer (P2P) trading platforms, and UK-based Blockchain.com planning to secure a licence. Other notable local crypto players in Nigeria include Roqqu, Bitnob, Yellow Card Nigeria, and Onboard Global.
Seychelles
Seychelles allows companies to operate through registration under the International Business Companies Act. Though there is some oversight from the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the regime is considered light-touch.
Licencing is not mandatory for many virtual asset providers; most operators in Seychelles are foreign entities rather than local companies.
Most of the firms registered in Seychelles are international platforms using the jurisdiction as a base for global operations, such as the crypto company OKX, which is planning to list publicly in the US. There is little in the way of local crypto infrastructure or home-grown exchanges.
Mauritius
Mauritius is regarded as one of Africa’s most structured crypto jurisdictions. The Virtual Asset and Initial Token Offering (VAITO) Services Act, in effect since February 2022, provides a comprehensive framework.
The Financial Services Commission regulates service providers, covering trading platforms, custodians, token issuers and advisory entities. Capital thresholds for Mauritian-licenced crypto firms vary between $43,000–$141,000, depending on the specific category.
Under the VAITOS Act, Mauritius issues several specific licence categories, each with different minimum capital requirements: Class M (broker-dealer) requires 2 million MUR ($43,000); Class R (custodian) requires 5 million MUR ($109,000); Class S (marketplace operator) requires 6.5 million MUR ($141,000).
For Class O (wallet provider), applicants must show 12 months’ forecast working capital, while Class I (advisory) and issuers of initial token offerings (ITO) must demonstrate sufficient working capital to stay solvent rather than a fixed sum.
Companies pay between $1,000–$5,000 in application processing and annual licence fees to maintain their regulatory standing.
Local firms such as BitSoko, BloomX and GBC Finance operate under official licences. Mauritius continues to market itself as a regional hub for secure and regulated crypto finance, attracting both local startups and international players seeking regulatory certainty.
Kenya
Kenya is on the verge of formal regulation through the Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill introduced in early 2025. The proposed law mandates licensing for exchanges, custodians, token issuers and related service providers, with oversight split between the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and the Capital Markets Authority (CMA).
The bill includes provisions on anti-money laundering, consumer protection and minimum capital requirements, alongside penalties for non-compliance.
Local and foreign crypto firms such as Paxful Kenya, Kotani Pay, Luno Kenya, Busha Kenya, and Yellow Card Kenya are expected to be early applicants once the framework is passed into law.
Ghana
Ghana currently lacks a formal crypto licensing system but has signalled regulatory intent. The Bank of Ghana (BoG) announced plans to introduce licensing for virtual asset firms by September 2025, citing rising consumer demand and remittance reliance.
Crypto players like Yellow Card Ghana, BitSika and Mazzuma are already active in the market and are preparing to comply with expected requirements once the law is operational.
Namibia
Namibia enacted the Virtual Asset Act in 2023, which allows the regulation of service providers under the supervision of the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority.
In January 2025, two crypto firms, Mindex Virtual Asset Exchange and Landifa Bitcoin Trade CC, were granted provisional 6-month authorisations, pending full compliance. This allows them to set up their systems and prepare for business under regulatory supervision, but they cannot offer services to the public or conduct transactions until they meet all compliance requirements and receive a full licence.
As of August 2025, no crypto startup holds a full licence, but the provisional stage represents Namibia’s cautious and structured approach to crypto oversight.
Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia, and Cameroon
Without formal licencing frameworks, these countries, except Rwanda, fall into a grey zone. Regulatory bodies issue consumer advisories, but no licencing frameworks exist. Crypto adoption remains at the grassroots level and largely informal.
In Rwanda, however, this is changing: as of March 2025, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) and National Bank of Rwanda (NBR) have introduced draft regulations requiring virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to apply for operating licences, with non-compliance risking fines and possible imprisonment.
The only other notable mention is Rwanda’s experiment with a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). In July, the country announced that it is testing a digital version of its currency, the Rwandan Franc, in closed doors.
The CBDC will be built on a permissioned blockchain ledger to allow central bank oversight. The country also plans to issue the digital currency to banks and financial institutions to improve liquidity and expand cross-border payments. The pilot will run until October 2025.
Central African Republic (CAR)
The Central African Republic was the first and only African country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in April 2022, but that status was revoked within a year.
Crypto is technically legal in the country. CAR has a pro-crypto government that launched a meme coin in February and has since made moves to tokenise real-world assets (RWAs). But due to the lack of any significant crypto player or even a ready market, regulation has not had to catch up with any major developments in the country.
Today, there is no formal licencing system for crypto. Activities (buying and selling) are confined to informal P2P traders rather than structured exchanges.
Senegal
Regionally, crypto popularity is growing in the Francophone Africa region, but there’s no framework encouraging adoption.
Senegal is part of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), which relies on the regional bank, Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), for monetary policy. Each country, including Senegal, handles its financial regulation.
As of 2025, Senegal has no clear law or licensing process for crypto companies. Banks are not allowed to offer crypto services, and exchanges operate in a legal grey zone. For now, crypto businesses run without regulation and face uncertainty.
Côte d’Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire, like Senegal, is part of WAEMU and doesn’t yet have its own laws or licencing system for crypto as of 2025. Crypto is not banned, but it’s also not recognised as legal tender, so businesses operate without formal protection or oversight.
The regional bank, BCEAO, has tightened rules around money laundering and customer checks for fintechs, but crypto still sits in a legal grey zone.
That said, there’s been more regulatory attention this year. Future crypto laws are likely to follow the regional direction of WAEMU or ECOWAS. However, at this time, no cryptocurrency licences have been issued, and the space remains largely informal.
Benin
Benin has taken early steps toward crypto regulation. In February 2024, it passed Law No. 2024-01, aligned with WAEMU’s anti-money laundering rules. This targets VASPs, requiring them to get initial authorisation and follow standards on transparency, security and compliance.
But as of 2025, there’s still no clear process for full licencing, and enforcement is limited. Most crypto use in Benin remains informal, driven by high mobile use and limited access to traditional banking. Yet, by passing crypto-specific legislation, Benin is ahead of most of its regional peers.
Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt
These countries have taken the hardest line against cryptocurrencies on the continent. In all three, cryptocurrency trading, use, or possession is outright illegal, with financial authorities imposing legal penalties for individuals or entities engaging in crypto activities.
- Egypt: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) prohibits individuals, banks, and financial institutions from dealing in cryptocurrencies.
- Algeria: Passed in November 2017, the Financial Law of Algeria (2018) explicitly bans the purchase, sale, use, or holding of “virtual currencies”; violations are subject to prosecution.
- Morocco: In Morocco, crypto transactions are an offence under foreign exchange regulations. The Bank Al-Maghrib, the finance ministry, and market authorities have issued repeated warnings against holding digital assets. Violations could result in hefty fines and legal actions. While the country seems to be shifting its stance after announcing a draft law in November 2024, not much has changed since then. Morocco continues to thrive as an underground crypto hotspot—ranked 27th globally—due to high trading activity in informal spaces.
Other countries remain undecided
Many African countries—such as Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Cameroon, Sudan, and Gabon—have taken no concrete steps toward crypto licencing. This is often due to limited crypto adoption, lack of technical expertise, or a wait-and-see approach as regulators observe developments in larger markets.
In these countries, crypto activities remain largely informal or unregulated, with most governments issuing only consumer advisories rather than specific laws or licencing frameworks.
Continental outlook
South Africa and Mauritius currently offer the clearest and most structured licencing regimes for crypto. Botswana and Nigeria are emerging into regulated territories with authorised local firms. Kenya and Ghana appear likely to formalise licencing before the end of 2025.
Compared to five years ago, more African countries are opening up to crypto. As more countries develop clear stances, it will encourage local startups to build and innovate without uncertainty. Foreign players will also be incentivised to seek licences in a bid to stay onside with the law, build trust in the market, and tap into growing crypto hubs.
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