Is crypto legal in Algeria? Rules & regulation (2026)

Legal framework

Law No. 25-10 of 24 July 2025 (amending AML/CFT Law No. 05-01 of 6 February 2005), building on Article 117 of Finance Law 2018 (Law No. 17-11); enforced by the Banque d'Algérie, the Banking Commission, the Financial Intelligence Unit (CTRF), and the Ministry of Justice.

Status by sub-area

• Stablecoins

  None

  Stablecoins fall within the general ban on virtual assets. There is no issuance, reserve, redemption or audit framework; issuing, holding or using a stablecoin is a criminal offence under Law 25-10.

• Exchanges / VASP

  None

  Operating a crypto exchange or VASP is explicitly criminalised. Algeria has no registration, licensing, capital or conduct regime for virtual-asset service providers.

• Token Offerings

  None

  ICOs, STOs and other token offerings are prohibited. 'Issuance' of virtual assets is one of the activities expressly criminalised; there is no prospectus or securities-law pathway for crypto tokens.

• Custody

  None

  Holding crypto for oneself or on behalf of others is criminalised. There is no qualified-custodian, segregation, proof-of-reserves or insurance regime; mere possession can trigger prosecution.

• DeFi

  None

  DeFi activity by Algerian residents is unlawful. Protocols, front-ends and DAOs are not separately regulated — they are captured by the blanket ban on virtual-asset issuance, trading, and promotion.

• Tax

  None

  Algeria has no tax regime for crypto because all crypto activity is illegal. There is no capital-gains, income or VAT/GST treatment for virtual assets; proceeds from banned activity are confiscable under AML/CFT rules.

Key points: crypto & digital assets in Algeria

1. 01Comprehensive criminal ban (Law 25-10, 2025)

   Law No. 25-10 of 24 July 2025, published in Journal Officiel No. 48, criminalises issuing, buying, selling, using, holding, trading, promoting and mining virtual assets, as well as operating exchanges or wallet services. Penalties are 2 months to 1 year imprisonment and fines of 200,000–1,000,000 DZD (~USD 1,540–7,700), with doubled penalties for recidivists.

   news.bitcoin.com fincrimecentral.com

2. 022018 statutory baseline (Article 117)

   Article 117 of Finance Law 2018 (Law No. 17-11) was the first statutory prohibition on 'virtual currencies' in Algeria, banning purchase, sale, use and possession. Law 25-10 extends and criminalises that prohibition, closing earlier administrative gaps.

   digitalpolicyalert.org en.wikipedia.org

3. 03AML/CFT integration

   The ban is embedded in Algeria's anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing framework (Law 05-01 as amended). Virtual assets are treated as 'funds' for AML purposes; banks and reporting entities must flag and report any crypto-linked activity to the Financial Intelligence Unit (CTRF).

   fincrimecentral.com

4. 04Central-bank supervision & bank-level screening

   The Banque d'Algérie and its Banking Commission have issued binding guidance requiring supervised institutions to deploy electronic monitoring for crypto-related keywords (e.g. 'Bitcoin', 'Ethereum'), mixer activity and anonymous-wallet flows, and to escalate suspicious transactions as part of their AML programs.

   fincrimecentral.com cryptobriefing.com

5. 05Explicit mining prohibition

   Mining is expressly outlawed. The government has cited electricity-subsidy abuse and strain on the national grid as drivers, pairing the legal ban with specialised cyber units in the National Gendarmerie to detect residential and industrial mining operations.

   decrypt.co techinafrica.com

6. 06No licensing or 'grey zone'

   Algeria has no VASP licensing regime, no stablecoin authorisation path, no permitted custody framework and no tax treatment for crypto gains — because every underlying activity is a criminal offence. There is no pending reform bill signalling liberalisation; the 2025 law was a hardening, not a transition toward regulation.

   icij.org en.cryptonomist.ch

Timeline of decisions

1. 1 Nov 2025Guidance · official
   Banque d'Algérie Issues Circular 06/2025: Banking Guidelines to Identify and Block Virtual-Asset Transactions

   The Banque d'Algérie's Banking Commission published binding guidelines directing all financial institutions to deploy electronic surveillance systems flagging keywords such as 'Bitcoin' and 'Ethereum', detect mixer and anonymous-wallet activity, and immediately report suspicious virtual-asset transactions to the financial intelligence unit (CTRF). This circular operationalized Law 25-10 across the supervised banking sector, closing the implementation gap between the statutory ban and actual enforcement.

   Banque d'Algérie – Commission Bancaire

2. 24 Jul 2025Law
   Law No. 25-10: Cryptocurrency Activities Fully Criminalized

   Algeria converted its earlier administrative prohibition into a criminal statute: Law No. 25-10 bans issuance, possession, purchase, sale, mining, wallet operation, and exchange services for all digital assets. Convictions carry 2 months to 1 year imprisonment and fines of DZD 200,000-1,000,000, closing the enforcement gap that had allowed a shadow market to persist since 2018.

   Decrypt

3. 24 Jul 2025Law
   Law No. 25-10: Comprehensive Criminalization of All Crypto Activities (Official Gazette No. 48)

   Algeria enacted Law No. 25-10, amending the AML/CFT framework by adding Article 6 bis (blanket ban on issuance, purchase, sale, possession, use, promotion, exchange-platform operation, and mining of any digital asset) and Article 31 bis (criminal penalties: 2 months to 1 year imprisonment and fines of 200,000-1,000,000 DZD, approx. USD 1,540-7,700). This is the most sweeping anti-crypto legislation in Algerian history, explicitly criminalizing passive holders and content promoters alongside active traders.

   El Moudjahid (citing Journal Officiel No. 48, 24 July 2025)

4. 13 Jun 2025Decision · official
   FATF June 2025 Plenary Confirms Algeria Remains Under Increased Monitoring

   The FATF's June 2025 plenary kept Algeria on its grey list, noting the country had deferred its progress report. Sustained grey-list pressure, coming just six weeks before Law 25-10 was signed, is widely cited as the immediate catalyst for Algeria's decision to criminalize crypto activity in order to demonstrate AML/CFT compliance.

   FATF

5. 25 Oct 2024Decision · official
   FATF Places Algeria Under Increased Monitoring (Grey List)

   At its October 2024 plenary the FATF formally added Algeria, alongside Angola, Côte d'Ivoire, and Lebanon, to its grey list, citing deficiencies in risk-based supervision, beneficial-ownership transparency, and AML/CFT effectiveness. Algeria made a high-level political commitment to an action plan. The grey-listing directly drove subsequent legislative measures targeting unregulated financial instruments, including digital assets.

   FATF

6. 4 Jun 2020Law · official
   Supplementary Finance Law No. 20-07 Reaffirms Virtual Currency Prohibition

   Algeria's 2020 complementary finance law (Law No. 20-07, Official Gazette No. 33) reiterated the existing ban on virtual currencies, reinforcing the foundational 2018 prohibition and signaling continued government resolve to exclude crypto from the formal financial system at a time of growing informal adoption.

   Direction Générale des Douanes Algériennes (Journal Officiel No. 33)

7. 1 Jan 2018Law · official
   Finance Law 2018: First Statutory Prohibition on Cryptocurrency

   Algeria's Finance Law for 2018 (enacted as Loi n° 17-11, 27 December 2017) introduced the first explicit statutory ban on the purchase, sale, use, and holding of virtual currencies, citing threats to monetary sovereignty and financial-crime risks. Lacking specific criminal penalties, the prohibition was administratively weak, allowing a shadow market to persist until Law No. 25-10 in 2025.

   Journal Officiel de la République Algérienne No. 77 (2017)

8. 28 Dec 2017Law
   Finance Law No. 17-11, Article 117: Algeria's First Statutory Crypto Ban

   Algeria enacted Finance Law No. 17-11 (2018 budget law), whose Article 117 prohibited the purchase, sale, use, and possession of all virtual currencies, defined as digital assets lacking physical support. Published in Official Gazette No. 76, this was the foundational legal text making Algeria one of the world's earliest statutory crypto-prohibition jurisdictions, with violations subject to existing penal and financial regulations.

   Freeman Law (citing Official Gazette No. 76, Law No. 17-11, 27 Dec 2017)

Sources

1. 1.news.bitcoin.com/algeria-enacts-sweeping-ban-on-crypto-use-exchange-and-mining/
2. 2.decrypt.co/332890/algeria-bans-all-crypto-activities-including-ownership-and-min
3. 3.fincrimecentral.com/algeria-crypto-ban-compliance-analysis/
4. 4.digitalpolicyalert.org/event/28584-finance-law-for-the-year-2018-law-no-17-11-including-proh
5. 5.cryptobriefing.com/algeria-crypto-ban-legislation/
6. 6.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_cryptocurrency_by_country_or_territory
7. 7.icij.org/investigations/coin-laundry/cryptocurrency-regulations-global-explain
8. 8.techinafrica.com/algeria-enacts-sweeping-crypto-ban-criminalizing-all-digital-asset-ac
9. 9.en.cryptonomist.ch/2025/07/30/total-wall-of-algeria-on-bitcoin-and-cryptocurrencies/