Is crypto legal in Dominican Republic? Rules & regulation (2026)

The Permanent Finance Commission of the Chamber of Deputies held public hearings on two overlapping legislative initiatives: a digital assets and crypto-assets bill (Deputy Jorge Frías) and a cryptocurrency prevention, control and regulation bill (Deputy Carlos de Pérez). Technical advisers recommended merging both texts into a single consensus bill after a 60-day public consultation, with IDB technical support and formal coordination with the BCRD.

A direct action of unconstitutionality was submitted to the Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic challenging the legislature's prolonged failure to enact a virtual-asset regulatory framework and demanding that Congress remedy the omission. This is the first constitutional challenge arising from the crypto governance gap.

The Central Bank published a research paper estimating potential domestic demand for a central bank digital currency, signalling institutional openness to state-issued digital money as a complement to, or alternative for, the unregulated crypto-asset market.

The Dirección General de Impuestos Internos issued Consulta Técnica 20-2023 concluding that cryptocurrencies themselves do not generate a standalone tax event, but that profits realised upon conversion to legal tender constitute taxable income declarable under general income-tax rules (IR-1 or IR-2 forms), establishing the first formal tax treatment guidance for crypto gains.

The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic issued a formal public communiqué warning that no cryptocurrency is backed or authorised by the Monetary Board for issuance or use as a means of payment, carries no sovereign guarantee, and that regulated financial institutions dealing with crypto assets face fines and sanctions under Law 183-02.

The Central Bank published an academic working paper analysing decentralised virtual currencies and their implications for monetary policy, reflecting growing institutional awareness of crypto-assets while maintaining the institutional position that they fall outside the regulated financial system.

GAFILAT (the FATF-style regional body for Latin America) published the Dominican Republic's Mutual Evaluation Report following an on-site assessment in January 2018, evaluating AML/CFT technical compliance including obligations applicable to virtual asset service providers under the newly enacted Law 155-17.

The Dominican Republic enacted a comprehensive AML/CFT overhaul replacing Law 72-02, aligning with FATF Recommendations including R.15 on virtual assets, and empowering the Financial Intelligence Unit (UAF) as the competent AML authority; although no explicit crypto-asset regime was created, Law 155-17 became the primary compliance instrument applied to any virtual-asset transactions by regulated entities.

The Monetary and Financial Law established the Dominican peso as the sole legal tender throughout the national territory, prohibited any non-authorised entity from issuing currency substitutes, and barred regulated financial institutions from operating with non-approved instruments — the legal pillar the BCRD and Monetary Board cite in every subsequent communication prohibiting crypto in the formal financial system.