Is crypto legal in Cameroon? Rules & regulation (2026)
Crypto is developing in Cameroon.
Cameroon has no dedicated national cryptocurrency law; individual ownership occupies a legal grey area, neither explicitly authorised nor prohibited. A regional CEMAC framework (December 2022) introduced authorisation requirements for VASPs, exchanges, custody, and ICOs under COSUMAF, while a separate COBAC directive bans all banks and financial institutions from facilitating crypto transactions. Cameroon has remained on the FATF grey list since June 2023, and BEAC is developing a sub-regional crypto-asset regulatory framework alongside a proposed digital CFA franc CBDC for 2026.
Legal framework
CEMAC Financial Market Regulation (COSUMAF, December 2022); COBAC Directive prohibiting bank/financial-institution crypto activity (May 2022); BEAC monetary oversight; no standalone national Cameroon crypto law enacted
Status by sub-area
Stablecoins
ProposedNo private stablecoin issuance framework exists in Cameroon or the CEMAC zone. BEAC is pursuing a sovereign digital CFA franc (CBDC) at 1:1 parity as its explicit response to private stablecoins, with a full sub-regional regulatory framework targeted for 2026.
Still pending: BEAC digital CFA franc framework implementation targeted for 2026
Exchanges / VASP
PartialCOSUMAF's December 2022 CEMAC regulation defines and requires authorisation for virtual-asset exchange services and trading platforms. However, the parallel COBAC directive bans banks and payment service providers from crypto activity, and full national-level implementing rules in Cameroon are not yet in place.
Still pending: Cameroon national crypto exchange implementing rules not enacted
Token Offerings
PartialThe December 2022 CEMAC Financial Market Regulation introduced ICO and token-offering provisions under COSUMAF, requiring issuer disclosure and authorisation. Prior to this, authorities had warned companies to halt unregulated digital-asset fundraising; no Cameroon-specific national implementing regulation has been separately enacted.
Still pending: Cameroon national ICO/token-offering implementing regulation not enacted
Custody
PartialCustodial services for virtual assets are recognised and regulated under the December 2022 CEMAC Financial Market Regulation, requiring COSUMAF authorisation. Detailed rules on asset segregation, proof-of-reserves, insurance, or qualified-custodian standards have not been separately elaborated at the national level.
Still pending: Cameroon custodian standards (segregation, reserves, insurance) not elaborated
DeFi
UnclearNo specific DeFi regulatory framework exists in Cameroon or the CEMAC zone. BEAC, COBAC, and COSUMAF have not issued guidance on decentralised protocols, liquidity pools, DAOs, or front-end liability; DeFi falls into the same broad legal grey area as crypto generally.
Still pending: No DeFi framework or guidance from BEAC, COBAC, COSUMAF
Tax
UnclearCameroon's General Tax Code and successive Finance Laws (including the 2025 Finance Law) contain no specific provisions for cryptocurrency capital gains, income from mining or staking, airdrops, or VAT on digital-asset transactions. No official tax authority guidance has been issued; applicable treatment under general tax law remains unconfirmed.
Still pending: Cameroon tax authority guidance on crypto gains, mining, staking not issued
Key points: crypto & digital assets in Cameroon
No standalone national law
Cameroon has enacted no dedicated national cryptocurrency legislation; individual use is neither explicitly legalised nor banned, leaving crypto in a grey area governed only by general commercial and AML statutes.
COBAC bank prohibition (May 2022)
COBAC issued a directive in May 2022 prohibiting all banks, microfinance institutions, and payment service providers across the CEMAC region, including Cameroon, from facilitating or engaging in any cryptocurrency transactions.
CEMAC Financial Market Regulation (December 2022)
On 14 December 2022, COSUMAF (the CEMAC-zone securities and financial market regulator) published updated rules covering blockchain, ICOs, virtual assets, and VASPs, establishing a regional authorisation framework applicable in Cameroon.
FATF grey list (since June 2023, still listed February 2026)
Cameroon was placed under FATF increased monitoring in June 2023 and remained listed as of February 2026, having completed fewer than 40% of its 24-point AML/CFT action plan; developing a VASP regime is part of its remediation obligations.
Digital CFA franc under development
BEAC is designing a sovereign digital currency pegged 1:1 to the CFA franc to counter private stablecoins; a harmonised CEMAC sub-regional crypto-asset regulatory framework, developed in cooperation with the IMF, is expected in 2026.
No dedicated crypto tax rules
Cameroon's General Tax Code and the 2025 Finance Law contain no specific provisions for cryptocurrency capital gains, mining income, staking rewards, or VAT; no official guidance has been issued on how general tax rules apply to digital-asset transactions.
Timeline of decisions
- GuidanceBEAC Backs Sovereign Digital CFA Franc to Counter Private Stablecoins
BEAC Governor Yvon Sana Bangui publicly committed to a CBDC pegged 1:1 to the CFA franc, warning that dollar-backed private stablecoins would drain CEMAC foreign-exchange reserves and undermine monetary sovereignty, signalling that any digital-currency future in Cameroon will be state-issued, not crypto-based.
Business in Cameroon
- DecisionBEAC Formally Rejects Crypto Regulation at Inaugural CEMAC Fintech Forum
At the first CEMAC Fintech Forum in Douala (29-31 January 2024), BEAC's Director-General of Operations explicitly rejected industry calls to regulate crypto, arguing that purchasing crypto with CFA francs would deplete shared foreign-exchange reserves and weaken the currency, the clearest on-record policy statement against any regulatory opening.
Business in Cameroon
- GuidanceMinistry of Finance Study Counts ~900,000 Crypto Users, 11th Largest in Africa
A government-commissioned study presented by the Ministry of Finance estimated nearly 900,000 cryptocurrency users in Cameroon (6.76% of the active population), ranking the country 11th in Africa, dramatically illustrating the gap between widespread informal crypto use and the complete absence of any national legal framework.
Business in Cameroon
- Decision · officialFATF Places Cameroon on Grey List for AML/CFT Deficiencies Including VASP Oversight
The Financial Action Task Force added Cameroon to its 'jurisdictions under increased monitoring' list, citing strategic deficiencies in AML/CFT supervision, including inadequate oversight of virtual-asset service providers; Cameroon remained on the grey list through at least February 2026, creating strong external pressure to formalise crypto enforcement.
FATF
- LawCOSUMAF Regulation 01/22 Introduces VASP Licensing Framework for CEMAC Capital Markets
The CEMAC capital-market regulator COSUMAF published Regulation nº 01/22, defining virtual assets, ICOs, and Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) and requiring COSUMAF approval to offer digital-asset custody, trading-platform, or portfolio-management services, the first formal regulatory pathway for compliant crypto activity in the zone, though implementing instructions remained pending.
Legal Network International
- DecisionCOBAC Decision D-2022/071 Bans All Crypto Transactions by Financial Institutions
The Central African Banking Commission issued Decision D-2022/071 prohibiting all banks, microfinance institutions, and payment service providers across CEMAC, including Cameroon, from holding, trading, exchanging, or settling any cryptocurrency; institutions must file detailed monthly reports on any detected crypto activity with COBAC and BEAC.
TechCabal
- GuidanceMINPOSTEL Workshop Announces Crypto White Paper, Never Enacted
The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MINPOSTEL) held a workshop in Yaoundé on 'challenges, opportunities, and risks of cryptocurrency in Cameroon' and announced it was developing a regulatory white paper, the government's first formal signal of legislative intent; the white paper was never published and no national crypto law has been enacted to date.
Business in Cameroon
- DecisionCameroon Pilots 'Trest' State Digital Currency with Indian Firm Trestor
The government contracted Indian software company Trestor to trial a state-issued digital currency called 'Trest'; the pilot collapsed due to prohibitive electricity costs for transaction processing, an early experiment with sovereign digital money that predated any crypto-regulatory framework and foreshadowed BEAC's later preference for a state-controlled digital CFA franc.
Freeman Law
Sources
- fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/High-risk-and-other-monitored-jurisdictions/increased
- legalnetworkinternational.com/regulating-virtual-asset-services-in-the-cemac-zone-a-look-at-the-upd
- 4mlegaltax.com/regulating-virtual-asset-services-in-the-cemac-zone/
- 4mlegaltax.com/regulation-of-cryptocurrency-in-the-cemac/
- businessincameroon.com/finance/1005-16150-stablecoins-beac-pushes-digital-cfa-franc-to-prese
- businessincameroon.com/public-management/3010-15274-cameroon-remains-on-fatf-grey-list-despi
- freemanlaw.com/cryptocurrency/central-african-states/
- businessincameroon.com/finance/1111-12046-cameroon-plans-a-national-cryptocurrency-regulatio
- primetimelawoffice.com/cryptocurrency-bitcoin-and-the-law-in-cameroon/
- ecofinagency.com/news/0905-55412-cemac-central-bank-bets-on-1-1-cfa-stablecoin-parity-
- taxsummaries.pwc.com/republic-of-cameroon/corporate/significant-developments
- coinfomania.com/cryptocurrency-regulations-in-cameroon/
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Next topicOrientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 24 May 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026