Crypto license in Bahrain: CBB requirements (2026)

Yes. To provide crypto-asset services in Bahrain you need a Crypto-Asset Services licence under the CBB Rulebook, supervised by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), under the CBB Rulebook Volume 6, Crypto-Asset (CRA) Module.

The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).

CBB application and annual licensing fees that scale with the licence category.

Typically roughly 3–6 months across the pre-application and licensing stages.

Volume 6 CRA Module licenses four categories of crypto-asset service providers: Cat 1 advisory/order-transmission, Cat 2 agency/custody/portfolio management, Cat 3 principal dealing, Cat 4 crypto-asset exchange (only Cat 4 may operate an order-book venue and only Cat 4 must be a Bahraini Joint Stock Company B.S.C.). Minimum paid-up capital ranges from BD 25,000 (Cat 1) to BD 300,000 (Cat 4), with three months' operating expense liquidity.

On 4 July 2025 the CBB issued the Stablecoin Issuance and Offering (SIO) Module, permitting single-currency fiat-backed stablecoins denominated in BHD, USD or other CBB-approved currencies. Issuers must hold 1:1 reserves in high-quality liquid assets in segregated accounts with authorized custodians, subject to annual external audit.

Amendments introduced in March 2023 added CRA-15 covering Digital Token Offerings, defining 'Digital Tokens' as asset or utility tokens meeting the definition of securities under CBB Law. Issuers must classify each offering, publish a whitepaper meeting a prescribed template, and where the token is a security, comply with CBB securities-law prospectus/disclosure requirements.

CRA-8 requires custody licensees to segregate client crypto-assets from firm assets, separate personnel/systems/controls from other lines, ensure no orphaned wallets (all wallets must be recoverable), manage keyman risk with insurance and business-continuity plans, and follow enhanced due diligence at onboarding.

Bahrain has no personal income tax or capital gains tax, so individual crypto trading/investing/mining gains are untaxed. The National Bureau for Revenue's Financial Services VAT Guide (updated 1 Jan 2022) treats mining rewards as outside VAT scope, treats utility tokens like vouchers, generally exempts asset tokens as financial services, and treats hybrid tokens case-by-case.

No person may market or carry on regulated crypto-asset services by way of business within or from Bahrain without a CBB licence. The CBB has up to 60 days to decide on a licence application, and firms must comply with governance, risk, AML/CFT, cybersecurity, market-integrity, reporting and conduct rules on an ongoing basis.