Is crypto legal in Benin? Regulation & rules (2026)

Benin enacted Law No. 2024-01 of 20 February 2024, transposing the WAEMU AML/CFT Uniform Law adopted by the Council of Ministers on 31 March 2023. It defines virtual assets and VASPs, subjects them to prior authorisation, and makes them obligated entities for AML/CFT purposes per FATF Recommendation 15. Essential implementing texts — who issues licences, on what conditions — have not yet been promulgated.

The BCEAO, monetary authority for all eight WAEMU states including Benin, held an international conference on crypto-assets and digital innovations on 8 May 2026 in Dakar, calling for a balanced approach between innovation, monetary stability, and financial security. It has not yet transposed Basel Committee crypto-asset prudential standards (in force January 2026) into its framework.

Crypto assets are not legal tender but are not explicitly prohibited. Trading, holding, and mining are effectively lawful under general financial and business law. No formal licensing regime for exchanges or crypto service providers is operational, leaving the market largely informal.

Benin's Ministry of Economy and Finance and Directorate General of Taxes treat cryptocurrency as taxable property rather than currency, applying existing property and investment-income tax rules. No crypto-specific rates, reporting forms, or staking/airdrop guidance have been legislated.

The BCEAO is developing a digital franc CFA (e-CFA) partly as a monetary-sovereignty response to the growing use of dollar-backed stablecoins (USDT/USDC) in the WAEMU zone. No issuance timeline or regulatory framework for the e-CFA has been published.

No ICO, STO, or token-sale framework exists in Benin or at WAEMU level. Beninese companies raising capital via crypto must rely on general corporate law; those targeting European investors must also satisfy EU MiCA requirements applicable since December 2024.