Is crypto legal in Costa Rica? Regulation & rules (2026)

Cryptocurrencies may be freely held, exchanged, and transferred under contractual freedom and general commercial law; the BCCR explicitly does not recognize them as legal tender and has published analysis noting their high volatility relative to the colón.

Passed first debate on 2 July 2025, the bill amends Law 7786 to formally define 'virtual asset' and 'VASP', require SUGEF registration, and impose KYC/CDD, Travel Rule, beneficial-ownership transparency, and suspicious-transaction reporting obligations; fines for non-compliance range from two to one hundred base salaries.

Unlike most FATF-aligned jurisdictions, Costa Rica's emerging regime requires SUGEF registration as a compliance checkpoint — not a formal authorization to operate — making it one of the last major jurisdictions without mandatory VASP licensing.

A 2023 private letter ruling confirmed crypto is an intangible asset: business holdings are subject to Corporate Income Tax; personal investment gains are taxed at 15% capital-gains rate; fees for exchange or custody services attract VAT.

Tokens exhibiting securities characteristics (profit expectations, investment-return rights) require prior SUGEVAL authorization and an approved prospectus under the Securities Market Law; utility and payment tokens without such features face no specific securities-law obligation.

Proyecto de Ley 23.415, a broader Cryptoassets Market Law that could introduce tiered licensing for different categories of crypto businesses, was under legislative review in early 2026 but had not been enacted.