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

On 17 July 2023 the Central Bank of Kuwait, CMA, and Insurance Regulatory Unit issued coordinated circulars imposing an 'absolute prohibition' on dealing in virtual currencies as payment, investment, or services, and on all mining activity. The circulars state that no licences have ever been issued and that none may be issued in future.

The CMA Circular No. 10/2023 explicitly prohibits granting any commercial licence to natural or legal persons to provide virtual-asset services within Kuwait, and confirms no such licence was ever granted before the circular.

On 22 April 2025 Kuwait's Ministry of Interior issued a formal ban on crypto mining, citing violations of the penal code, telecommunications law, industrial regulations, and municipal rules. Authorities uncovered more than 1,000 illegal mining sites and detained 26 individuals, with the Public Prosecution ordering their detention pending investigation.

Regulators cited compliance with FATF Recommendation 15 on virtual assets and AML/CFT obligations as the primary basis for the prohibition, making Kuwait's ban part of a formal international-standards framework rather than an ad hoc measure.

The July 2023 circulars exclude CBK-regulated securities and CMA-regulated conventional financial instruments from the prohibition. This carve-out does not create any pathway for tokenised or blockchain-based assets.

Kuwait imposes no personal income tax, capital gains tax, or VAT. Consequently no crypto-specific tax rules have been enacted; crypto activities remain legally prohibited rather than taxed, and no reporting obligations for digital-asset holdings exist.