Crypto & Digital Assets · Ecuador
Is crypto legal in Ecuador? Rules & regulation (2026)
Ecuador shaded by its crypto & digital assets status
Crypto is developing in Ecuador.
FrameworkCódigo Orgánico Monetario y Financiero (COMF) Arts. 94 & 98; Ley de Prevención de Lavado de Activos (Oct 2025 revision); JPRFM Resolution JPRFM-2025-004-F (FinTech by-laws); supervised by Banco Central del Ecuador (BCE), UAFE, Superintendencia de Bancos (SB), and SCVS
Ecuador's Monetary Code explicitly prohibits cryptocurrency as legal tender or an authorized means of payment, and licensed banks must refuse crypto-related transactions. No blanket ban on private holding or trading exists, but there is no comprehensive crypto-specific licensing regime; instead, VASPs are obligated subjects under the AML Law and must register with the UAFE. The 2025 FinTech by-laws and a draft VASP registry (PSAV) signal an actively developing framework that has not yet been enacted into full law.
Key points
Articles 94 and 98 of the COMF prohibit crypto as an authorized means of payment; the BCE and JPRFM have issued public reminders that using crypto as payment may be referred to the Attorney General's Office for sanction.
VASPs are designated obligated subjects under Ecuador's AML Law (revised October 2025) and must register with UAFE, apply KYC/CDD controls, monitor transactions, and file suspicious-activity reports.
JPRFM Resolution JPRFM-2025-004-F formalised requirements for FinTech service providers: minimum paid-in capital of USD 200,000, local incorporation as a sociedad anónima, liability insurance, quarterly cybersecurity reports, and special SB registration.
A dedicated PSAV chapter under the COMF reform is under legislative debate; once enacted it would require exchanges to segregate client funds and share wallet analytics with UAFE, but no enactment date is confirmed.
Tokens bearing investment-contract characteristics fall under the Securities Market Law and SCVS supervision; the Companies Act also permits blockchain-based share tokenisation for sociedades anónimas.
The Servicio de Rentas Internas (SRI) treats realised crypto gains as Ecuador-source income: up to 35% progressively for individuals and 25% flat for companies; no holding-period relief or crypto-specific exemptions are in force.
Timeline - major decisions & events
With 145 votes in favour, Ecuador's legislature archived the Proyecto de Ley Orgánica sobre Uso y Regulación de Tecnologías Blockchain after negative technical opinions from the BCE, Banking Superintendency, and SCVS; Ecuador therefore has no dedicated digital-asset statute and the bill cannot be reconsidered in the same legislative period.
Asamblea Nacional del Ecuador ↗The Central Bank publicly warned that cryptoassets are 'not legal tender, nor an authorised means of payment,' invoking Article 98 of the COMF and threatening prosecutorial referrals; the SCVS separately warned citizens against sharing biometric data with Worldcoin, which it said was unregulated and posed privacy risks.
Banco Central del Ecuador ↗The Superintendency of Companies (SCVS) issued Resolution SCVS-INC-DNCDN-2024-0006 formally classifying Virtual Asset Service Providers as obligated subjects under Ecuador's AML/CFT framework supervised by the UAFE — the first national regulation to define 'virtual assets' — requiring KYC, a compliance officer, and reporting of transactions at or above USD 10,000.
Superintendencia de Compañías, Valores y Seguros (SCVS) ↗Ecuador's financial supervisor levied fines totalling USD 1.2 million on 12 financial institutions during 2024 for processing crypto-related transfers in breach of JPRM resolutions prohibiting banks from handling unauthorised payment instruments, marking the first major wave of enforcement actions against the banking sector.
Coinfomania (citing banking supervisor data) ↗The Monetary Policy and Regulation Board issued two resolutions: JPRM-2023-014-M classifying authorised payment instruments (physical, electronic, e-wallets) and JPRM-2023-015-M reaffirming the USD as sole legal tender; neither list includes cryptoassets, binding all financial institutions to reject crypto-denominated settlements.
Junta de Política y Regulación Monetaria / Banco Central del Ecuador ↗Following Bitcoin's 2017 price surge and rising domestic interest, the BCE and JPRM issued a formal public clarification that while purchasing or selling cryptoassets online is not prohibited, using them to settle goods or services remains expressly illegal under Articles 94 and 98 of the COMF.
La República (reporting BCE/JPRM position) ↗Ecuador's legislature passed a law to decommission the BCE-operated Sistema de Dinero Electrónico after only three years of operation; peak account balances reached just USD 11.3 million due to low merchant acceptance and distrust of a central-bank-held dollar substitute, and the system was formally wound down in 2018.
Cato at Liberty (citing National Assembly legislation and BCE records) ↗Ecuador's foundational monetary code (Official Registry No. 332) established the USD as sole legal tender (Art. 94) and prohibited 'circulation and receipt of currency not authorised by the JPRM' (Art. 98), effectively banning Bitcoin and all decentralised cryptocurrencies as payment instruments, while simultaneously authorising the BCE to issue its own state electronic money.
Código Orgánico Monetario y Financiero — Official Text (via COSEDE) ↗Ecuador - other topics
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