Is crypto legal in Honduras? Rules & regulation (2026)
Crypto is developing in Honduras.
Honduras has no dedicated cryptocurrency law. In February 2024 the National Banking and Insurance Commission (CNBS) issued Circular 003/2024 barring all supervised banks and financial institutions from holding, investing in, or brokering any virtual asset not authorized by the BCH. Private citizens may hold and trade crypto at their own risk, but no exchange licensing regime exists, no domestic VASPs are licensed, and a draft FinTech bill proposing a VASP framework had not been tabled in Congress as of May 2026.
Legal framework
CNBS Resolution 069/09-02-2024 (Circular 003/2024); Banco Central de Honduras (BCH); no dedicated crypto legislation enacted
Status by sub-area
Stablecoins
NoneNo stablecoin-specific legislation or regulatory framework exists in Honduras. Stablecoins fall within the broad category of virtual assets that supervised financial institutions are prohibited from handling under CNBS Circular 003/2024; no issuance authorization, reserve, or redemption-rights regime has been established.
Exchanges / VASP
PartialPrivate citizens and informal VASPs are not explicitly prohibited from operating, but no national exchange licensing or registration regime exists. Supervised financial institutions are barred under CNBS Circular 003/2024 from facilitating crypto transactions, effectively cutting off bank on-ramps; no VASP has received a national license.
Still pending: National VASP licensing and registration regime not yet established
Token Offerings
NoneHonduras has no legislation or regulatory guidance governing token sales, ICOs, or STOs. No securities classification framework for digital tokens has been established, and no disclosure or prospectus requirements apply to token offerings.
Custody
NoneNo custody-specific rules for crypto assets exist. CNBS Circular 003/2024 bars supervised institutions from holding any unauthorized virtual asset, effectively prohibiting regulated entities from offering custodial services; no rules on segregation, qualified custodians, proof-of-reserves, or insurance apply.
DeFi
NoneHonduras has issued no guidance or regulation specific to decentralized finance. No regulator has addressed DeFi protocols, DAOs, or automated market makers; the general CNBS prohibition on supervised institutions interacting with virtual assets applies to any regulated entry point, but DeFi itself remains entirely unaddressed.
Tax
PartialHonduras has no dedicated cryptocurrency tax law or SAR (Servicio de Administración de Rentas) guidance on digital assets. Realized crypto gains are generally treated as 'other income' under the Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta at rates up to 15% when converted to fiat; no VAT ruling, staking/airdrop treatment, or mandatory crypto-reporting obligations have been issued.
Still pending: SAR guidance and dedicated crypto tax law (VAT, staking, reporting treatment) not yet issued
Key points: crypto & digital assets in Honduras
CNBS Bank Prohibition (Feb 2024)
Resolution 069/09-02-2024 (Circular 003/2024) prohibits all CNBS-supervised institutions from holding, investing, intermediating, or operating with cryptocurrencies, tokens, or any similar virtual asset not issued or authorized by the BCH, citing AML, fraud, and terrorist-financing risks.
No National Legal-Tender Status
The BCH has confirmed that crypto assets are not legal tender in Honduras and that use of digital assets as a means of payment or investment is carried out entirely at the risk of those engaging in such operations.
Próspera ZEDE Exception, Contested
The Próspera ZEDE on Roatán island adopted Bitcoin as legal tender within its boundaries in 2022, but the Honduran Supreme Court subsequently declared the ZEDE legal framework unconstitutional. Próspera remains physically operational and is pursuing ICSID arbitration against Honduras, so its status is legally contested.
No Licensed Domestic Exchanges
No VASP licensing or registration framework exists at the national level. Hondurans access crypto through offshore exchanges and informal OTC channels; no entity has received a national VASP license.
Draft FinTech Bill, Not Yet Tabled
The Secretariat of Finance was reportedly drafting a FinTech bill to establish a VASP licensing regime and impose a cybersecurity levy on large crypto-to-fiat conversions; public consultation was anticipated for late 2025 but no bill has been introduced in the National Congress as of May 2026.
Tax, No Dedicated Crypto Rules
Honduras has issued no crypto-specific tax legislation or SAR guidance. Realized gains from crypto are generally treated as 'other income' under the general Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta, with rates up to 15%; no VAT ruling or mandatory reporting regime for crypto exists.
Timeline of decisions
- Guidance · officialCNBS Issues Public Clarification: Individual Crypto Use Remains Unregulated but at User's Risk
On the same day as Circular 003/2024, CNBS published a separate communiqué emphasizing that the banking prohibition does not extend to private citizens, but warned that personal use of crypto platforms outside the supervised financial system is entirely at the individual's own risk with no state protection.
Comisión Nacional de Bancos y Seguros (CNBS)
- Decision · officialCNBS Circular 003/2024: Supervised Institutions Banned from All Crypto Activity
Honduras's National Banking and Insurance Commission issued Circular 003/2024 at its 1779th session, prohibiting all CNBS-supervised banks, insurers, and financial intermediaries from holding, investing in, brokering, or facilitating customer transactions in any virtual asset not explicitly authorized by the Banco Central de Honduras. The measure took immediate effect and cited fraud, money laundering, and terrorist-financing risks; it does not restrict private individuals from trading crypto on unregulated exchanges.
Comisión Nacional de Bancos y Seguros (CNBS)
- GuidanceBanco Central de Honduras Launches Two-Month Public Consultation on Retail CBDC
The BCH, with IMF technical support, opened a public consultation on issuing a retail central bank digital currency, publishing the study 'The Future of Money and Payments in Honduras.' Financial inclusion and cross-border remittances (≈26% of GDP) were the stated primary objectives; the BCH identified a retail CBDC as the most viable path and signalled it was still at the research stage.
FinDev Gateway / Banco Central de Honduras
- DecisionPróspera ZEDE Officially Adopts Bitcoin as Unit of Account and Legal Tender Within the Zone
The semi-autonomous special economic zone Próspera on Roatán island enacted rules allowing registered legal entities to use Bitcoin as their official accounting unit, pay taxes in BTC, and conduct commerce in Bitcoin — the first jurisdiction in Honduras to grant crypto this status. The move was legally confined to the ZEDE's own regulatory framework and did not affect mainland Honduras.
CryptoBriefing / Próspera ZEDE
- GuidanceBanco Central de Honduras Formally Denies Bitcoin Legal-Tender Plans; Reaffirms Crypto 'Not Regulated'
Following press speculation that Honduras might follow El Salvador's 2021 Bitcoin law, the BCH issued an official statement confirming it had no plans to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender and recalling its prior 2020 and 2021 communiqués declaring that the BCH 'does not supervise or guarantee operations carried out with cryptocurrencies.' Only the lempira and BCH-authorized foreign currencies constitute legal tender in Honduras.
CoinDesk / Banco Central de Honduras
- GuidanceBCH Issues Second Communiqué Reiterating Non-Supervision of Cryptocurrency
The Banco Central de Honduras published a second formal communiqué (referenced publicly in March 2022) reaffirming that it does not supervise, regulate, or guarantee any operations conducted with cryptocurrencies as a means of payment in national territory, maintaining the position first stated in 2020.
Bitcoin.com News / Banco Central de Honduras
- Guidance · officialFATF Extends Recommendation 15 to Virtual Assets and VASPs; Honduras Bound as CFATF Member
The Financial Action Task Force updated Recommendation 15 to require all member jurisdictions — including Honduras via its CFATF membership — to apply AML/CFT obligations to virtual asset service providers, covering registration/licensing, customer due diligence, suspicious transaction reporting, and the Travel Rule. This set the international baseline that later informed Honduras's CNBS banking prohibition.
FATF
Sources
- cryptonews.com/news/honduras-tightens-crypto-regulations-prohibits-bank-transactions
- coingeek.com/honduras-bans-banks-from-dealing-with-digital-assets/
- crowdfundinsider.com/2024/02/221608-honduras-bans-cryptocurrency-trading-amid-fraud-money-
- consortiumlegal.com/en/2025/04/04/investment-in-cryptoassets-and-cryptocurrencies-in-hond
- freemanlaw.com/cryptocurrency/honduras/
- blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-now-legal-tender-in-special-economic-zone-of-honduras
- theintercept.com/2024/03/19/honduras-crypto-investors-world-bank-prospera/
- taxsummaries.pwc.com/honduras/individual/income-determination
- finance.yahoo.com/news/honduras-financial-regulator-restricts-banks-043709820.html
- gfmag.com/economics-policy-regulation/honduras-cryptocurrencies-banned/
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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